NY Jets: Le’Veon Bell has right to be upset about lack of training camp reps

NY Jets’ running back Le’Veon Bell is justified for his frustration with Adam Gase.

NY Jets running back Le’Veon Bell voiced his displeasure after Wednesday’s training camp practice. This is nothing new. Not in relation to Bell, but head coach, Adam Gase.

Where have we seen this before? Butting heads with star players, consistent injuries across the depth chart, inconsistent game planning.

Oh, yes, Miami.

It isn’t shocking that Bell is unhappy with the way Wednesday’s game-like simulation for a practice went down. Adam Gase forfeited the bulk of Bell’s practice reps to 37-year-old workhorse, Frank Gore.

Asking these two questions should put Gase’s decision into perspective. Is Frank Gore going to see meaningful reps come Week 1 versus Buffalo? Probably, yes.

Is Gore going to see the majority of running back reps, come Week 1 versus Buffalo? No. So, there really isn’t anything to worry about on that front.

Le’Veon Bell will be the lead running back heading into the season, and that’s really all that matters. Training camp is a time to not only sharpen skills, but to discover what teams may have in potential contributors down the line.

The NY Jets added Kalen Ballage to bolster their depth, not take snaps away from Le’Veon Bell.

This is one reason the Jets traded for now-former Miami Dolphins running back Kalen Ballage to pair with the rest of the running back room.

Although the group is now a bit crowded, it gives the team a chance to see what Ballage can offer an organization that hasn’t had much success in the run game as of late.

If Ballage isn’t what the Jets have been looking for, the conditional seventh-round pick that was offered returns to New York.

If Ballage, whom the team traded for on Thursday, takes meaningful reps away from a player that vows to be much better in 2020 than he was in previous years, then there’s a problem.

Gase mentioned that the reason he removed Bell from practice was due to hamstring tightness. Bell later cleared this up insisting that nothing was wrong with his hamstrings.

Blatantly lying about a player’s potential injury, isn’t the way to gain his trust. Gase promised to bring Frank Gore anywhere he was going to coach. This doesn’t mean he should give him a significant number of reps, however.

You’ve got a superstar on your hands, Adam, show him the respect that he’s shown you.