Odds on Le’Veon Bell’s Next Team After Being Released by Jets; Bears Favored, Steelers Listed at +600
By Robert Duff in NFL News
Updated: March 9, 2021 at 1:22 pm ESTPublished:
- Le’Veon Bell was released on Tuesday by the New York Jets
- The Chicago Bears are +400 favorites to pick up the three-time All Pro running back
- Other contenders are the Kansas City Chiefs (+550), Cleveland Browns (+800), and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+800)
Ask not for whom Bell toils. He toils for no one.
Three-time All-Pro running back Le’Veon Bell was released on Tuesday by the New York Jets. Immediately, oddsmakers were out with a prop wager speculating on his next NFL home.
The running back-shy Chicago Bears, who are surprisingly favored to make the NFL playoffs, are topping the list at odds of +400.
Le’Veon Bell Next NFL Team Odds
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Chicago Bears | +400 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | +550 |
| Cleveland Browns | +800 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | +800 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | +900 |
| Tennessee Titans | +900 |
| Arizona Cardinals | +1000 |
| Miami Dolphins | +1000 |
| New England Patriots | +1000 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | +1000 |
| San Francisco 49ers | +1000 |
| Seattle Seahawks | +1000 |
| New York Giants | +1200 |
| Washington Football Team | +1400 |
| Detroit Lions | +1800 |
Odds taken Oct. 14.
The second team on the board is also somewhat shocking. The Super Bowl-champion Kansas City Chiefs are listed at odds of +550.
Last year, Bell signed a four-year, $52-million contract with the Jets. Of that money, $27 million was guaranteed in the first year of the deal.
Jets Le’Veon Him Out
When the announcement was made of Bell’s departure, he’d already banked over $28,031,250 from the Jets. That pay covered 17 games and 264 carries for 863 yards.
The Jets' relationship with Le'Veon Bell came to an abrupt end tonight.
(via @FieldYates) pic.twitter.com/nz71bC9mbF
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 14, 2020
If you do the math, that works out to $106,178.98 per carry, or $32,481.17 per yard.
Bell averaged 15.5 carries per game as a Jet. In his final season with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Bell lugged the pigskin a league-leading 321 times and finished with an NFL-high 406 touches.
Gase Beyond
Jets coach Adam Gase said it was immaterial whether they’d misused Bell’s talents. However, a lot of guys who move on from Gase’s coaching find the escape to be rejuvenating.
Ryan Tannehill
w/ Adam Gase: 89.0 passer rating
w/out Gase: 115.4 (leads NFL)Robby Anderson
w/ Gase: 10.1 PPR/G (55th)
in 2020: 18.2 PPR/G (WR1)DeVante Parker
w/ Gase: 8.1 PPR/G
w/out Gase: 15.1 (WR1)Le'Veon Bell
w/ Gase: 13.5 PPR/G
w/out Gase: 21.9 (most ever)— Scott Barrett (@ScottBarrettDFB) October 14, 2020
If teams needed incentive to acquire Bell, they need only look at players like Tennessee QB Ryan Tannehill, Arizona RB Kenyan Drake, and Carolina WR Robby Anderson as examples of players who are thriving away from Gase.
A Bears Bell
Chicago was also the favorite to grab Leonard Fournette when he was cut earlier this season by Jacksonville. If it made sense then, it makes even more sense now.
Since the Bears passed on Fournette, all-purpose back Tarik Cohen was lost for the season to a torn ACL. The Bears are 27th in the NFL in rushing (95.4 yards per game).
https://twitter.com/BearsFilmRoom/status/1316186344591417344?s=20
David Montgomery, Chicago’s leading rusher, ranks 29th in the NFL in yards per game (49.4).
Chicago is also an unlikely playoff contender at 4-1. An experienced workhorse back like Bell could be just what the doctor ordered to help take some of the pressure off QB Nick Foles.
A Happy Homecoming?
Bell was among the NFL’s elite backs with Pittsburgh. However, he and the Steelers went through a messy divorce. He sat out the 2018 season in a contract dispute in order to gain free-agent status and escape the Steel City.
After making $16 million from the Steelers over four years, Le'Veon Bell made $28 million from the Jets in little over a year.
— Andrew Brandt (@AndrewBrandt) October 14, 2020
Is a reunion feasible? Probably not.
In 2017, his last season with Pittsburgh, there were already indications of decay in Bell’s game. He produced just three runs of 20 yards or longer and none longer than 27.
Value Plays
Seattle coach Pete Carroll isn’t afraid to think outside the box. Chris Carson is injury-prone and playing just 63% of all snaps. Bell can catch the ball out of the backfield, so he’d fit comfortably into Seattle’s scheme.
got a lot to prove. i’m ready to go. pic.twitter.com/oDqBM62JfN
— Le'Veon Bell (@LeVeonBell) October 14, 2020
New England’s Bill Belichick thrives on taking other team’s problems and turning them into his solutions. The Patriots’ backfield is crowded but The Hoodie likes to be surrounded by versatile backs.
Pick: Seattle Seahawks (+1000)
Sports Writer
An industry veteran, Bob literally taught the course on the history of sports at Elder College. He has worked as a Sports Columnist for Postmedia, appeared as a guest on several radio stations, was the Vice President of the Society For International Hockey Research in Ontario, and written 25 books.
