NFL: 30 running backs who got better after leaving their first team

After a good college career with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Greg Bell was picked by the Buffalo Bills in the 1984 NFL Draft. He started things off great, going for 1,100 rushing yards and seven touchdowns, including an 85-yard long run. Bell was awarded a Pro Bowl nod as a rookie.

This was supposed to be the start of a great career. However, ankle issues stemming back from his college days at Notre Dame caught up to him and limited his production. Bell played in only 10 combined games from 1986 to 1987. Buffalo would then trade him to the Los Angeles Rams.

It turned out to be the best thing for Bell’s career, as he underwent a renaissance with a new franchise. In 1988, he ran the ball 288 times for a career-high 1,212 yards and 16 touchdowns, which topped the league that year. Bell won the NFL Comeback Player of the Year that season.

He continued his stellar play the following season, going for another 1,137 yards and 15 rushing touchdowns, which once again led the NFL. Bell only had three instances of at least 100 yards rushing in a game, but he went over 200 in two of them. He also had another touchdown in the playoff win over the Philadelphia Eagles in 1989.

Bell’s injury-laden career ended in the following season in 1990 after playing just six games. He hung up the spikes at only age-28. When healthy, Bell showed signs of being an elite rusher in the game, but the ankle just wasn’t able to hold up long enough for him to fully maximize his potential as a runner.