Le’Veon Bell is headed to his first Super Bowl, which would have been hard to envision months ago when he was slumming it as a lowly New York Jet. After wearing out his welcome in the Big Apple, the three-time Pro Bowler resurfaced in predictably short order, flocking to the Chiefs after a brief courtship.
Bell, whose career has largely stagnated since departing Pittsburgh as a free agent (a move foreshadowed by his season-long holdout in 2018), gave strong consideration to joining Miami but ultimately chose Kansas City, believing the Chiefs would give him his best chance yet to win a Super Bowl. The 28-year-old obviously prioritized winning, though there were other factors that went into his decision, including one you probably wouldn’t expect.
“The Dolphins were definitely in the mix. I was so torn between how much of a workload did I actually want versus winning?” Bell told Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald. “At that time, with the Jets, I was so focused on winning, I didn’t really care about how my production would look.”
Bell knew the Chiefs would be employing him as a backup, a stark departure from previous tenures with Pittsburgh and New York, where he served as his team’s unquestioned workhorse. And while that meant swallowing his pride to some degree, Bell may actually prefer his new role as a complementary piece behind starter Clyde Edwards-Helaire.
“I had already missed three games earlier in the season,” said Bell, explaining the toll that injuries had taken on his 6’1,” 225-pound frame. “I want to go somewhere where I can still have my body and still help the team win. That’s what separated the Dolphins and the Chiefs. I felt like if I went to the Dolphins, I would have done a little more.”
Including the playoffs, Bell has averaged just 7.1 touches per game as a Chief, well below his career average of 21.3. After so many years of punishment, grinding between the tackles as an every-down player for the Jets and Steelers, taking on a lighter load with Kansas City appears to have given Bell some measure of relief. Bell’s days as a starter may be over and while coming to that realization is never easy, the veteran seems at peace with closing that chapter of his NFL journey.
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