NY Jets are trying to trade star running back Le’Veon Bell, per report

The NY Jets are reportedly trying to trade star running back Le’Veon Bell soon.

The NY Jets and Le’Veon Bell appear to be headed for a rocky split. And that split is apparently expected to come sometime in the very near future.

As reported by Manish Mehta of the NY Daily News, the Jets are actively trying to trade Bell ahead of the 2020 trade deadline on November 3rd. As Mehta described it, the team is “motivated” to get a deal done this time.

This isn’t the first time that the Jets have shopped Bell, whose production certainly hasn’t matched his hefty contract, at the deadline.

Just last year, the team attempted to do the same despite him playing on the first year of a four-year, $52.5 million contract he signed back in March of 2019.

That contract has proved to be one of the worst in the league, although all the blame certainly doesn’t fall on Bell.

The former All-Pro running back averaged a career-low 3.3 yards per carry last season running behind one of the worst offensive lines in football. It also didn’t help that his supporting cast (both players and coaches) wasn’t very accomplished either.

Bell hoped that things would be different in 2020 and he spent all offseason getting himself in the best shape of his life, refusing to share an ounce of the blame on anyone but himself.

Unfortunately, the 2020 season has been more of the same for Bell. A hamstring injury caused him to miss most of the start of the campaign and he returned in Week 5 to little fanfare.

Bell did rush for 60 yards on 13 carries for a 4.6 average, but he spent most of the game splitting touches with 37-year-old veteran Frank Gore. He garnered just one target in the passing game. Undrafted wide receiver Jeff Smith saw 11 passes come his way — catching just two of them.

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The NY Jets evidently aren’t utilizing Le’Veon Bell to the best of his abilities.

Bell clearly isn’t being used to his fullest potential, and he took to Twitter after the game to passive-aggressively let everyone know of his frustration.

A series of liked tweets criticizing head coach Adam Gase and even calling for his firing drew the attention of fans and media members alike.

Gase spoke to reporters on Monday about the situation and said “I hate that’s the route that we go with all this. Instead of just talking to me about it, but seems the way that guys want to do it nowadays.”

This isn’t the first time this discussion has been brought up. Bell has had issues with his usage in the past, but this is certainly the most vocal he’s been about them.

If the Jets were to trade Bell, they would have three weeks to do so. But with $6 million in guarantees left on his contract and a hefty sum of non-guaranteed money, it’s unlikely they get very much.

In all likelihood, the Jets would have to retain some of Bell’s salary to move him. But it seems they are motivated enough to take that into account.

Le’Veon Bell might be wearing a new uniform come next month. And his disappointing tenure with the Jets will be nothing more than a footnote in history.

Oh, what could’ve been.