NY Jets: How the release of Le’Veon Bell will impact Sam Darnold

The NY Jets didn’t do Sam Darnold any favors by releasing running back Le’Veon Bell.

The NY Jets‘ league-worst scoring offense just got worse after the release of the team’s most dynamic offensive weapon, Le’Veon Bell.

The Jets moving on from Bell shouldn’t come as a surprise as he was in the final year of his contract and signing him was never a move supported by the current front office.

It has been clear all along that the Bell signing was nothing but a last-ditch effort for the desperate former general manager Mike Maccagnan to save his job. Bell was never given a real chance to succeed with Adam Gase and Joe Douglas running the show.

However, it’s slightly surprising that the Jets failed to trade the former All-Pro running back to a contender for a late-round draft pick.

The Jets, a team starving for playmakers, just dumped the best running back on their roster while getting nothing in return. In a season where things seemingly could not get any worse, Douglas found a way.

There are still many behind-the-scene unknowns with the release of Bell. Perhaps he and his agent forced the Jets’ hand and demanded a release, or maybe Bell’s liking of a couple of tweets on Twitter regarding his usage was the final straw for Gase and Douglas.

Either way, both sides got what they wanted.

Bell tweeted the praying hands emoji after the news broke, essentially thanking God he was finally free from the evil clutches of Gase and the dumpster fire they call the NY Jets.

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— Le'Veon Bell (@LeVeonBell) October 14, 2020

On the other hand, Gase finally has the backfield he wanted all along — a 37-year-old Frank Gore that he can now run into the ground without having to worry about playing politics with Bell.

By removing even more talent from the already-talentless roster, the number one pick becomes more likely with each passing day, which in the long run, will be a big win for Jets fans.

In fact, the only person who loses from this whole situation is Gase’s scapegoat, Sam Darnold.

Sam Darnold will be negatively impacted by the NY Jets releasing Le’Veon Bell.

The way that Darnold has been treated this year is wildly unfair. Just a little short of a month ago, Darnold was the savior of the Jets in the eyes of both the fans and the media.

Within a five-week span, Darnold’s life did a full 180 as he now seems to be on his way out of the Jets organization.

While the sky was crashing down on him after the embarrassing loss against the Denver Broncos on Thursday Night Football, nobody stepped up to have Darnold’s back, especially not his head coach.

Gase instead deflected the blame on to his 23-year old quarterback and the offense’s lack of execution.

The talent, toughness, and desire to win are all there when it comes to Darnold. However, if the Jets land the number one overall pick, he will likely be replaced next year based on a series of events that were out of his control.

Whether it was bad coaching, a lack of talent around him, or the talent around him being injured, Darnold was never given the opportunity to be successful in New York.

Before Bell was released, many said that Darnold had nothing to work with. After Bell’s release, Darnold really has nothing to work with. With Bell off the roster for good, Darnold is by far the one who suffers the most, if not the only one who truly suffers at all.

Darnold has been a victim his whole career. The Jets have set him up for failure once again, and also appear to have completely abandoned him just five weeks into his third season — almost as if they are openly rooting for him to fall flat on his face in order to secure the number one pick.

With the release of Le’Veon Bell, it’s obvious that Douglas wants to build a team around Trevor Lawrence, not Sam Darnold.