New York Jets

New York Jets head coach Adam Gase didn't have much to say about Le'Veon Bell in the wake of the running back's release Tuesday. 

Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Gase called it "irrelevant at this point" when asked if the Jets misused Bell while he was with the team. 

"It is what it is. ... Our team is moving forward to Miami," Gase added. 

Prior to Bell's release, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News reported the Jets were attempting to trade the three-time Pro Bowler. 

The relationship between Bell and Gase always seemed to be icy at best. Bell used social media to dispute he was having issues with his hamstrings when the Jets held him out of practice in August:   

Bell had two years remaining on the four-year contract he signed in March 2019. The 28-year-old averaged a career-low 3.2 yards per carry last season, and his 1,250 yards from scrimmage were the fewest of his career during a season in which he played at least 12 games. 

After missing three games this season because of a hamstring injury, Bell started in New York's 30-10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. He ran for 60 yards on 13 carries. 

Coming off a respectable 7-9 record in 2019, the Jets have been a mess through five games this year. They are the only winless team (0-5) in the AFC and rank last in the NFL with 15 points per game.      

New York Jets head coach Adam Gase will remain the team's lead play-caller, he announced Wednesday.

The Jets fell to 0-5 with Sunday's 30-10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Gase subsequently said he was weighing whether to turn play-calling duties over to another coach.

"For the last four years, I've toyed with the idea every once in a while," he told reporters Monday. "I mean, I don't think I'm ever opposed to trying something to change things up. I'd say everything is on the table at this point."

Gase came in with a reputation as an offense-minded coach. He was an offensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears and Denver Broncos prior to his first head coaching gig with the Miami Dolphins.

That's what makes the performance of the Jets offense especially damning. They sit 31st in yards (279.4) and 32nd in points (15.0), and Football Outsiders ranks New York 28th in offensive efficiency.

In less than three full seasons, Sam Darnold has gone from the future cornerstone of the franchise to the subject of trade speculation. It's one thing for the Jets to perform badly under Gase, it's another thing for the Jets to be so bad it potentially creates long-term damage.

Gase isn't solely to blame for the state of the Jets, and the Le'Veon Bell situation is a prime example.

Former general manager Mike Maccagnan played a pivotal role in signing Bell, yet he was gone months later. While Gase didn't maximize Bell in his brief time with the Jets, making a significant offseason move without getting the head coach on board is bound to end badly.

Current general manager Joe Douglas also deserves some credit for letting Jamal Adams' relationship with the team deteriorate to the point he engineered a trade to the Seattle Seahawks.

One could argue Gase should turn the play-calling over to somebody else, but things might have already reached a point of no return. The Houston Texans and Atlanta Falcons have already fired their head coaches, so Gase's exit feels inevitable.

Le'Veon Bell's short stint with the New York Jets proved extremely lucrative, even if his production didn't match his salary. 

The Jets released Bell on Tuesday, less than two years into the four-year, $52.5 million contract he signed in March 2019. The $28 million he earned in 17 games with New York is nearly double the $16.2 million he earned as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers over five seasons.

Bell was a key cog in the Steelers' offense from 2013-2017, earning first-team All-Pro honors in 2014 and 2017 while tallying more than 1,200 yards rushing three times. After his second All-Pro season, Bell sat out the entire 2018 campaign due to a contract dispute with Pittsburgh. 

The Steelers handed off to Bell a career-high 321 times in 2017, and the tailback was looking to sign an extension before becoming a free agent following the 2018 season. When Pittsburgh instead franchise-tagged him, Bell elected to remain on the sidelines rather than risk his health in a contract year. 

From a financial standpoint, there's no question the decision made sense. The Jets gave Bell a four-year, $52.5 million contract with $35 million guaranteed and a maximum value of $61 million overall, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

He didn't come close to justifying that contract, though. Across the 2019 and 2020 seasons, Bell carried the ball 264 times for 863 yards and three touchdowns to go with 500 receiving yards and one touchdown.

Spotrac.com puts Bell's career estimated earnings at nearly $44.1 million. That number could jump up again in the near future if Bell signs elsewhere as a free agent. 

The winless New York Jets parted ways with running back Le'Veon Bell on Tuesday night, meaning it will be up to Frank Gore and La'Mical Perine to hold down the Jets backfield throughout the rest of the 2020 season.

The Jets shopped Bell, who was open about his disappointment with his role this season, but they could not find a team willing to make an offer, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Bell went on injured reserve ahead of Week 2 with a pulled hamstring, yet he's still the team's third-leading rusher despite having missed three games. He collected 74 yards on 19 rushing attempts in his two outings this season.

Gore and Perine are an interesting combination for the Jets moving forward. The former is the NFL's oldest running back at 37, and the Jets spent a fourth-round pick on the latter in April.

Gore, a five-time Pro Bowler, is the Jets' clear rushing leader with 204 yards on 64 attempts, though he has not managed to find the end zone yet. He tallied 699 yards from scrimmage on 179 touches with the Bills last season.

Quarterback Sam Darnold ranks second with 117 rushing yards, and Bell was third with 74.

Perine has appeared in four of the Jets' five games, posting 56 rushing yards on 15 carries after missing Week 1. At the University of Florida last season, he reeled in 40 passes. 

With Bell no longer on the team and Darnold still uncertain for Week 6 after missing last week with a shoulder injury, the Jets will likely feed Gore and Perine plenty against the Miami Dolphins. While he will see an uptick in touches, Perine should not be considered a fantasy starter yet, while Gore should move into the low-end RB2 or RB3 range.

The New York Jets have released running back Le'Veon Bell, the team announced Tuesday evening. 

The move comes less than halfway through a four-year, $52.5 million deal the Jets gave the 27-year-old in 2019 and included $27 million guaranteed.

Bell ran for 863 yards and three touchdowns while catching 69 passes for 500 yards and one score over 17 games with New York.

The team couldn't get to training camp last season before questions arose regarding Bell's long-term future in the Big Apple.

New York announced May 15 it fired general manager Mike Maccagnan and named Adam Gase as the acting GM until it found a permanent replacement.

Bell was already under contract by that point, and the New York Daily News' Manish Mehta and NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported the Jets had some internal disagreement over whether to sign Bell in the first place:

Few thought New York would actually take the extreme step of trading the Michigan State product before he completed the 2019 season, though.

There's no way for the team to positively spin the fact it spent millions on signing the three-time Pro Bowler and ultimately received such a small return on its investment.

One could also argue Bell provided obvious value to the Jets offense, so Gase—regardless of what he thought about his contract—might have been better off making things work rather than jettisoning him. Without a dynamic receiver available, getting the best running back was a good way to find support for Sam Darnold.

Bell also represented a significant upgrade over Isaiah Crowell and Elijah McGuire, the Jets' top two rushers in 2018.

Now, New York is leaning on Frank Gore, who has 204 rushing yards and is averaging 3.2 yards per carry in 2020.

Between giving huge deals to Bell and C.J. Mosley, firing the GM who finalized those contracts and now releasing Bell, the 2019 offseason couldn't have gone any worse for the Jets. The fanbase was cautiously optimistic with Darnold leading the rebuild, but now much of that positivity has vanished.

As the New York Jets turn their eyes toward the future amid an 0-4 start, Le'Veon Bell is reportedly on the trade block. 

Per Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News, the Jets are "shopping Bell with the hope of trading him sooner rather than later" leading up to the Nov. 3 trade deadline.

Albert Breer of The MMQB added the Jets have had contact with teams about Bell, and they could be "willing to settle for a late pick and/or back-end player in return."

Bell's tenure with the Jets has been fraught with tension seemingly from the time he signed with the organization in March 2019. 

After Mike Maccagnan was fired as New York's general manager in May 2019, Mehta reported head coach Adam Gase "absolutely did not want to sign" Bell and "made it clear that he didn’t want to spend a lot of money on any running back."

Gase and Bell seemed to be at odds during a team scrimmage in August when the three-time Pro Bowler took exception to being removed as a precaution following tightness in his hamstring.    

The relationship between the player and team hasn't gotten any better as the season has progressed. Over the weekend, Bell liked a couple of tweets that were critical of his role in the Jets' passing attack:

Per SNY's Ralph Vacchiano, however, New York had already been looking to move Bell prior to his activity on social media.

The Jets have Bell signed for two more seasons with a combined $17.5 million base salary through 2022. The team can get out of his deal after 2020 with a $4 million dead cap hit next year and $2 million in 2022.  

Bell returned to New York's lineup in Week 5. He missed three games due to a hamstring injury suffered in the season-opening loss to the Buffalo Bills. The 28-year-old had 60 yards on 13 carries in a 30-10 loss against the Arizona Cardinals. 

In the event the New York Jets wanted to move on from Sam Darnold, they might not be able to match the investment they made in the 2018 first-round pick.

The MMQB's Albert Breer reported on the possible trade market for Darnold:

"And to continue the exercise, I did reach out to a few people to gauge what the price tag might be for Darnold—and what they'd be willing to pay. One NFC exec said, 'A little more than the [Josh] Rosen trade, so maybe a second and a fourth.' An AFC scouting director was willing to go a little further than that, saying, 'If you had a 1 in the 20s like, say, a Pittsburgh, I'd do it. The kid's talented as hell and is under a brutal [situation].' A second NFC exec said he'd consider 'a late 1 this year for him, maybe two 2s,' and added 'He's still an asset. This isn't Hackenberg.'"

One could argue executives from outside of the Jets have an incentive to trend toward the lower end of Darnold's trade value. Even anonymously, there's little reason to say you'd be willing to give up the farm for somebody under contract to another team.

But there's no question Darnold's stock has steadily fallen since the Jets selected him third overall two years ago. His performance has been particularly bad this year. Through four games, he has thrown for 792 yards, three touchdowns and four interceptions while completing only 59.4 percent of his passes.

The Jets are 0-5 and might have the No. 1 overall pick, thus giving them a shot at Clemson star Trevor Lawrence should he declare for the 2021 draft.

Add in the fact that head coach Adam Gase may not be around come draft day, and a quarterback change could be in the offing.

In the event Darnold might look to be on the way out, though, one general manager explained to ESPN's Adam Schefter how the Jets won't have a ton of leverage:

"I don't think they'd get a [first-round pick] for Sam, but it also depends what he puts on tape the rest of the year. The problem is, [Darnold] is struggling with his accuracy, his durability—so they're in a tough spot. And if everyone knows the Jets are taking a quarterback, then they won't get as much back."

The Arizona Cardinals used the 10th overall pick on Josh Rosen in 2018. One year later, they settled for a 2019 second-round pick and a 2020 fifth-rounder for Rosen in a trade with the Miami Dolphins. Once everyone perceived the Cardinals coveted Kyler Murray, teams were going to drive a hard bargain.

And the same thing would presumably happen with Darnold. This is the price the Jets would have to pay for their failures with regard to Darnold's development.

The New York Jets and running back Le'Veon Bell appear headed for an eventual divorce. It's unclear when it will happen, though. 

Ralph Vacchiano of SNY reported it will be difficult for the Jets to move the disgruntled veteran before this season's trade deadline:

"Unfortunately for the Jets, what they can likely get back is 'not much,' according to one NFL source. The 28-year-old Bell is undoubtedly at the low point of his value. His production in 17 games as a Jet has been poor (863 yards on 3.3 yards per carry) and injuries have nagged him the entire way. Plus, he'll still be due more than half his guaranteed $8.5 million salary at the deadline ($4.5 million). 

"That means the Jets would likely have to eat some of that money, and they'd likely be looking at only a Day 3 draft pick—possibly one very late on that third day. But at this point they should take it, if anyone offers, because the Bell signing has not worked out."

Bell appears ready to move on after liking several tweets that were critical of the team's offense and one tweet suggesting the Jets should trade him. 

"I hate that's the route we go with all this instead of just talking to me about it, but seems this is the way guys want to do it nowadays," head coach Adam Gase told reporters Monday in reference to Bell's Twitter activity.

Bell, 28, has missed three games this season with a hamstring injury. He has only 19 carries for 74 yards and three catches for 39 yards in the two games he's played. That likely isn't the role the Jets envisioned when they signed him to a four-year, $52.5 million contract ahead of the 2019 season. 

That contract is looking worse and worse. Bell live up to expectations in the 2019 season, rushing 245 times for 789 yards and three scores, posting a woeful 3.2 yards per carry, while adding 66 catches for 461 yards and a touchdown. In his defense, the Jets offense hasn't been good around him in the past two years. 

It's a marriage that hasn't worked. At least not while Gase is still presiding over the disappointing 0-5 Jets. 

It's pretty clear that Le'Veon Bell is just about done with the New York Jets and head coach Adam Gase. 

The running back liked a number of tweets in recent days that were critical of how the team has utilized him and suggesting he should be traded:

On Monday, Gase responded to the situation. 

"I hate that's route we go with all this instead of just talking to me about it," he told reporters, per Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. "But it seems that's way guys want to do it nowadays."

Mehta opined that Gase's stance was an "interesting take from guy who routinely trashes his players behind the scenes."

Bell, 28, missed three games this season with a hamstring injury, though in the two games he's been active this season he hasn't been heavily utilized. Bell has registered 19 carries for 74 yards and three catches for 39 yards. 

Gase has talked in the past about getting him involved more in the passing game, per Rich Cimini of ESPN, though he was targeted just once on Sunday:

"Some of the things they were doing on defense weren't ideal for some of the stuff that we had up for him, so I felt like we might have been releasing him [from pass protection]. They were getting the safety working down on him instead of the linebackers. We liked his matchup against the linebackers, but they were using the safeties a little bit with him. I saw that and probably got away from him a little bit. That's just kind of the flow of the game, how it felt."

Even if the Jets do decide to move on from Bell, trading him won't be easy given his $8.5 million base salary. As Cimini noted, Bell will still be owed $5 million by the trade deadline. That means the Jets likely will have to eat some of that salary themselves and perhaps sweeten the pot on any deal with a later-round draft pick. 

Granted, there's also the possibility that Gase will be fired at some point, given the team's dreadful 0-5 start, and an interim head coach might incorporate Bell into the offense more heavily. The team does have Frank Gore and La'Mical Perine at running back as well, so there are only so many touches to go around. 

Bell clearly wants more, however. Add it to the list of issues the Jets need to resolve this season. 

Turns out, Le'Veon Bell would have preferred more than one target in the aerial attack.

Bell liked a tweet that questioned why he wasn't more involved in the passing game during Sunday's 30-10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. While he had a team-high 13 carries for 60 yards, he was essentially a nonfactor on passing plays.

It was Bell's first game since a Sept. 13 loss to the Buffalo Bills.

Jets head coach Adam Gase talked about Bell being a factor when the team passed before the season, per Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News:

"I feel like we can find better ways to get him the ball to help him create more explosive plays. We can get him in space better than what we did last year. I think there was a lot of good that did in the receiving game last year. But I don't think we ever really gave him enough space to work. Because that's his game. If he gets space to work, he's going to make a guy miss... I think we really got to use the whole gamut and find as many different ways to get him the ball in space as possible."

At his best, Bell was a multifaceted playmaker who had 83 catches in 2014, 75 catches in 2016 and 85 catches in 2017 as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

He will look to return to that form as the 0-5 Jets attempt to bounce back from an abysmal start.