Well, at least we know that Jets owner Christopher Johnson isn’t allergic to eating dead money. The team announced on Tuesday night that it released former All-Pro running back Le’Veon Bell, despite a guaranteed $6 million in salary and a $1 million roster bonus remaining on his 2020 compensation.
Somehow, though, the Jets haven’t been able to bring themselves to biting the bullet on head coach Adam Gase with two-plus years left on his contract.
This is Dysfunction Junction, and not because moving on from Bell was unwise. Even if you believe in never paying a premium price for a running back, you have to admit that Bell has ridiculously underperformed the four-year, $52.5 million contract he signed as a free agent in March 2019. Bell has averaged just 3.3 yards per carry in 17 games as a Jet, a full yard below his average during his prior five seasons in Pittsburgh, and was likely to be excised after this season anyway, saving the Jets about $9.4 million in 2021 salary cap space.
Like All-Pro safety Jamal Adams before him, Bell’s situation became urgent when he made his frustrations public via passive-aggressive social media complaints over how he was used by Gase in New York’s 30-10 loss to Arizona.
Surely, Jets general manager Joe Douglas would have jumped at a similar exit strategy for Bell, if only he received an offer. Any offer, even a box of kicking tees, would’ve been valid if it didn’t require the Jets to basically pay Bell for the privilege of playing for someone else. Per ESPN’s Rich Cimini, teams were disinclined to take on Bell’s $8 million 2021 guarantee for injury; now any club can sign him to a new deal as a free agent.
Bell was a poor fit in New York from the beginning, given the massive adjustment required for a runner that heavily relied on patience behind the line of scrimmage. Compared to quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, wide receiver Antonio Brown, and the Steelers’ offensive line, the lack of talent in the Jets’ surrounding personnel placed Bell on a proverbial island – and then they tasked him with rescuing himself.
Unfortunately, Bell looks like he has lost a step or two after sitting out the 2018 season due to a contract dispute. On a third-and-one against Arizona, Bell took a pitch and couldn’t find the gear to beat the defense to the corner. He also took forever to get to the line on a fourth-and-one dive. Among backs with at least 200 rushing attempts over the last two seasons, Bell has produced the league’s fewest carries of ten-plus yards, with his longest gain a mere 19 yards.
However, Bell still has legitimate value as a receiver, and the fact that he was only targeted once for a seven-yard gain apparently set him off. He blew off his postgame media Zoom call and then “liked” tweets that criticized Gase for such scheming malpractice. Of course, during training camp, Bell took exception on Twitter when Gase told the media that Bell was held out of reps due to a hamstring injury, so this is nothing new.
By Monday, though, Gase seemed exasperated with Bell’s failure to keep things in-house, and you just knew then that this marriage arranged by prior GM Mike Maccagnan (with or without Gase’s blessing, depending on who you believe) was on its last legs. Bidding Bell adieu made sense for all parties.
Somehow, though, Gase gets to keep his job piloting a sinking ship that’s 0-5, with each defeat by multiple scores. In addition, he’s now free to force-feed his pride-and-joy, 37-year-old Frank Gore, until he drops – a player in Gore, by the way, who is the only one with at least 200 touches since the beginning of last season that has averaged fewer yards from scrimmage per touch than Bell.
Side note for those enamored with rookie running back La’Mical Perine: let’s not put this kid in Canton yet. Some in the media have used his long touchdown run during a training camp scrimmage versus the Jets’ starting defense as proof of his breakaway speed. Watching that unit continually leak explosive runs, Perine’s feat becomes less impressive every week. He also didn’t look so swift carrying the ball on Sunday’s kickoff returns, either.
Back to Bell: given how sensitive Bell seems to be, you’d think Gase would have prepared him for the possibility that Sunday’s workload might be lighter than normal (Bell had 13 carries, Gore had 9) in his return after a three-game absence due to a hamstring injury. Unfortunately, Gase’s communication skills, or lack thereof, were well-known even before Adams’ July Daily News interview. Gase’s three seasons in Miami were littered with spats with key players and even the owner.
With the exception of being the apple of this owner’s eye, Gase’s tenure here has been similarly pockmarked. So, what’s it going to take for Johnson to finally cut the cord? How many players must Gase alienate? And will the merciful end come before other Jets use the Adams/Bell template to emancipate themselves from the worst situation in the NFL?
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