NY Jets place running back Le’Veon Bell on injured reserve

The NY Jets have placed running back Le’Veon Bell on the injured reserve.

The NY Jets have officially placed running back Le’Veon Bell on injured reserve following a hamstring injury he sustained during the team’s 27-17 loss to the Buffalo Bills.

Bell apparently tweaked his hamstring late in the first half but instead of being removed from the game, head coach Adam Gase opted to send Bell back out in the second half.

The former All-Pro running back emerged from the locker room with a heavily-wrapped thigh before he re-injured his hamstring and was promptly removed again.

Gase spoke to reporters following Sunday’s loss and gave injury updates on both Bell and injured linebacker Blake Cashman. And the initial prognosis wasn’t very promising with Gase saying that both could miss “a couple of weeks.”

For that reason, his placement on the IR is hardly surprising.

This is obviously a major blow to both Bell and the Jets. Bell entered the 2020 season vowing that he would be in the best shape of his life and play the best football of his career.

While that first part may be true, the latter’s possibilities just took a significant hit following this injury. At a minimum, Bell will miss three weeks before he can be returned under the NFL’s new IR rules in 2020.

The Jets will be hoping that he doesn’t miss any more time than that.

What will the NY Jets do without Le’Veon Bell?

In the meantime, veteran Frank Gore will be handed the keys to the backfield, including this Sunday against his former team, the San Francisco 49ers.

Josh Adams will likely receive a full-time promotion to the active roster as a result as well. The former Philadelphia Eagles’ leading rusher scored his first touchdown with the Jets this past Sunday and he may see some additional playing time over the next few weeks.

Fourth-round rookie La’Mical Perine remains sidelined with an ankle injury and a timetable for his return is currently unknown. But the Jets haven’t placed him on IR meaning they expect he will be back before Week 3.

The Jets also reportedly signed former Miami Dolphins running back Kalen Ballage earlier on Tuesday, per his agent, reuniting Ballage with his former head coach.

You have to feel for Le’Veon Bell given all the work he put in this offseason. Nonetheless, his future in New York remains very much uncertain and this injury only adds fuel to that fire.