By WFAN.com
Jets running back Le'Veon Bell insists his absence at last month's voluntary minicamp will eventually be a moot point.
Bell, who signed a four-year, $52.5 million contract with the Jets in March, skipped the workouts. While no player is obligated to attend, it was a curious move for a player joining a new team and who sat out all of last season in a contract dispute with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
"(W)hen it's time to play football...I got to stick to the formula that I know works for me to be the best player I can be," Bell responded to a fan on Instagram on Monday. "I'm not just tryna win football games, I want a ring! I want to desperately show everybody what I can what I can REALLY do...I'll take the heat right now, everybody will forget about that once January comes around."
Public Service Announcement ?? pic.twitter.com/pX7jB1w8Ft
— Le'Veon Bell (@LeVeonBell) May 7, 2019Coach Adam Gase downplayed Bell's absence.
"It's voluntary," he said. "(Bell) was here that first week (of offseason workouts), and we got a lot of good information that week to him."
Last week, Bell posted a video montage to Instagram of him working out.
I used to pray for this @tee_grizzley ???????????? ??: @d.izzzz
A post shared by LeVeon Bell (@leveonbell) on May 2, 2019 at 6:21pm PDT
In an interview with WFAN's "Boomer and Gio" last week, Jets guard Kelechi Osemele said he's seen Bell working hard at the team's facility.
"From what I've seen, he's been grinding, man," he said. "He's been working. I'm not concerned with him showing up out of shape or anything like that."
