Jets displeased Le’Veon Bell skipped OTAs, continuing his shtick
Le’Veon Bell recently opted not to attend voluntary workouts with his new team, the New York Jets — a decision the team is reportedly not happy about at all.
On Monday, Bell took to Twitter to explain why he didn’t take part in those workouts.
Public Service Announcement 🚨 pic.twitter.com/pX7jB1w8Ft
— Le'Veon Bell (@LeVeonBell) May 7, 2019
A day later, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News passed along what he’s heard from within the Jets organization after the running back shared his viewpoint on missing the workouts.
The Jets aren’t particularly pleased with their new running back’s decision to stay away from the team given their significant investment and desire to make him an integral part of Adam Gase’s offense.
Mehta also shared that the Jets aren’t particularly surprised by the development, given his history of skipping voluntary workouts as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
He didn’t report to the Steelers until a little over a week before their 2017 season opener. Despite that, he ran for 1,291 yards and nine touchdowns while catching 85 passes for 655 yards and two scores to earn Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors.
This situation is different, though, at least in terms of replicating such an extreme approach to the offseason.
Bell not only has to learn a new playbook, but he also has to build a rapport with his new teammates. He was in his fifth season with a mostly unchanged Steelers offense when he held out in 2017.
The optics aren’t great, either, with Bell isolating himself after signing for four years and $52.5 million, $27 million of which is guaranteed, per Spotrac.
For the time being, this isn’t too much of an issue. Bell is far from the first veteran to skip voluntary offseason workouts.
His presence will be more important at the start of training camp in June, when the Jets’ offseason program kicks into high gear.
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