New York Jets win Le’Veon Bell sweepstakes: Grading the signing
After a year of sitting out, Le’Veon Bell is taking his services to the New York Jets on a four-year deal. Grading the free agency signing for Gang Green.
The Le’Veon Bell saga has been ongoing for the past year. After the Pittsburgh Steelers elected to franchise tag him again, he wouldn’t sign the tag and ultimately didn’t show up. Bell sat out an entire season, all with the intention of hitting 2019 NFL free agency and getting a long-term deal, one that he preferred would be worth massive money. On Tuesday night, the New York Jets answered his call.
As first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Bell has agreed to sign with the Jets, taking his talents to the Big Apple. Moreover, Schefter added that the Bell deal is for four years, $52.5 million, with a maximum value of $61 million and $35 million guaranteed. In truth, it’s not quite as much money as some were expecting from his deal, but the four-year deal is one that surely makes Bell happy.
After trading up in the 2018 NFL Draft to take Sam Darnold and armed with a ton of cap space this offseason, it’s clear the Jets were trying to drastically improve their team this offseason in free agency. They almost had Anthony Barr, but added star linebacker C.J. Mosley and now Bell as a huge weapon for Darnold. But is this a good deal?
B. . RB. New York Jets. LE'VEON BELL
There’s no denying the simple fact that Le’Veon Bell makes the New York Jets a substantially better football team. Giving Darnold not only a reliable option in the run game, but also one of the best pass-catchers out of the backfield in the NFL for him to look to. That should be huge for his development.
While that may be true, there was always the inherent risk in giving Bell a long-term deal, no matter who did it. Not only has he not played professional football in over a year, but the deal locks him in New York until he’s 31 years old, when running backs typically see their skills decline. With Bell’s workload through his career, he appears quite susceptible to that.
Moreover, in the modern NFL, it’s tough to pay a running back this much money. It’s why many criticized the Giants last year as they took Saquon Barkley with the second-overall pick. Even if they contribute heavily in the passing game, it’s still a position that has completely changed over the past few seasons in terms of its value.
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Because of the immense upgrade that Bell will bring to the offense and how much he should help Darnold, the Jets certainly earn a passing grade for this signing. But it’s impossible to give them top marks given everything else that must be considered.