By: Jordan Long
Le’Veon Bell has found a new home. Bell sat out all of last year because he didn’t want to take the franchise tag from the Pittsburgh Steelers. Pittsburgh didn’t want to go through franchising him again and decided to make him a free agent since his contract was up. The Jets decided to sign him and are taking a risk on the running back.
Bell is one of the top running backs in the NFL. In his 5 years in the NFL Bell has rushed for 5,366 yards and 35 touchdowns. His best year for rushing yards came in 2014 when he totaled 1,361 yards. Bell is one of the hardest running backs to take down because of the way he runs. He usually makes the first defender miss and it takes a few to take him down. He averages an impressive 4.3 yards per rush.
Besides running the football, Bell can contribute in the passing game. He is able to block for the quarterback so they aren’t hit and have time to throw the football. Bell sneaks out of the backfield to catch passes with a total of 2,660 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns.
The Jets wanted to improve their backfield in the offseason. They ranked 26th in the league last year rushing for an average of 101.4 yards per game. They targeted Bell because of his ability to run the football. The Jets are going to give him a 4-year, $52.5 million deal, averaging $13.125 million a year.
The Jets are clearly overpaying for Bell. The biggest problem with the contract is who knows what kind of football shape Bell is in. He didn’t play a single down last year and may not be the same runner he was for the Steelers which could hurt the Jets in the end.
The Jets are hoping Bell is the answer in the backfield. They know in order to win football games this upcoming season, the running game is key. It will keep defenses off balance and they won’t know if New York is going to pass or run the football. If they can run the football, that should open up the passing game which could end up in more points on the scoreboard. fffff
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