Last year, Jets GM Mike Maccagnan signed Le’Veon Bell to a four-year, $52.5MM deal. Weeks later, Maccagnan was fired in a long-expected, yet ill-timed, move. Apparently, new head coach Adam Gase and GM Joe Douglas were not wild about Maccagnan’s moves, including the major expenditure for Bell. 
Unfortunately for Gase and Douglas, escaping Bell’s deal won’t be easy. The running back is slated to count for a $15.5MM cap figure in 2020 with similar numbers in 2021 and 2022. Shedding Bell this offseason would leave the Jets with $19MM in dead money and zero cap savings. The Jets’ best opportunity to dump Bell would come before the 2021 season, when they could save $9.5MM against $4MM in dead money.
Meanwhile, Bell underperformed in 2019 and reportedly clashed with team brass. He averaged just 3.2 yards per carry and his 66 catches for 461 yards out of the backfield weren’t nearly enough to offset that lack of efficiency.
Bell claimed multiple teams inquired about him before the October trade deadline. Douglas hinted that he would listen on calls after the season, though he later walked those comments back, saying that Bell is a valued member of the team.
Releasing Bell outright would result in $19MM in dead money. A trade would be less damaging – the Jets would absorb just $6MM in dead money while freeing up $9.5MM in cap room. Then again, the team taking on Bell would have to commit to his guaranteed $13MM for 2020, and that’s a tough sell. To offset that, the Jets would likely have to convert a portion of his 2020 pay into a signing bonus, which would add to the dead money total.
With all of that in mind, do you expect Bell to be in a Jets uniform in 2020? Cast your vote below (link for app users) and back up your choice in the comments section.
What a shocker: Bell underperformed and clashed with team management…again.
You can only do so much with a brutal offensive line. No one likes losing so I don’t fault him for clashing with management. They have had a toxic organization for the last several years
Adam Gase is the one whos clashed with Bell, imo
The best they can do this year is to convert about $7M of that salary into a bonus so that whatever team takes him only has a $5M cap hit. The Jets can save $2.5M and just move on.
I actually could see the Steelers being a player at that cap hit for something like a 4th/5th round pick. LeVeon was really dumb the way he negotiated in Pittsburgh, but I don’t think he was malicious or totally nuts like AB was.
Steelers would take him back for 2020 I’d bet under those circumstances and at that cost.
The problem is though, they barely have the money as it is to resign Dupree or Hargrave. (Not to mention they’re going to need to back up the brinks truck for Watt) Now if for some reason they don’t tag Dupree and he leaves, then I guess they could revisit that situation
Will he commit to the NFL or to bowling for the remainder of his pro career?
Zach drops a poll on us about Bell and the Jets in the lead up to the Super Bowl. That’s pretty funny.
Who else is gonna freaking take em? The line sucked, QB was out alot. Dont have alot of pieces. Cannot blame it all on him. I love Bell. I’m ravens fan, I’m glad we didnt get him. But if we did he would’ve did better I bet.
With the Ravens o-line, he wouldve definitely did better. He waits for the oline to create openings for him, if his oline cant do that he cant go to work
Jets put the cart before the horse. Can’t expect him to put up numbers like he did with the Steelers when Jess the only proven weapon on offense and doesn’t have a line in front of him.
He happily took the Jets’ money, and then he reverted back to himself, a turd.