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Watch Le'Veon Bell Address Trade Rumors: 'Happy as Hell to Be a New York Jet'
October 29, 2019
The New York Jets may have been looking to get out from under Le'Veon Bell's contract, but he's happy to be sticking around.
The Jets running back posted a video on Twitter following Tuesday's trade deadline saying he's happy to be remaining with the franchise.
"I am happy as hell to be a New York Jet. I'm happy to be here despite all the trade rumors and talks," Bell said. "I am here and I am happy to be here, but everybody has to have a little bit of patience. Just a little bit of patience. If it could happen overnight, it'd be a whole bunch of teams snapping their fingers and making it happen. I understand it's a process."
The Jets explored trading Bell before the 4 p.m. ET deadline, according to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News, but they were unable to find a deal. Bell signed a four-year, $52.5 million contract with the team in the offseason, which preceded the hiring of general manager Joe Douglas.
"There was no fire sale, there was no garage sale going on with these players," Douglas told reporters after there were rumors about Bell, wideout Robby Anderson and safety Jamal Adams. "We value these guys a lot, and ultimately the offers we got for these players didn't equal the value that we had for them within this organization."
Bell has struggled during the 2019 season, rushing for 349 yards and one touchdown while compiling only 187 yards on 32 receptions. He's on pace for career lows in nearly every major efficiency metric and has been one of the most disappointing high-usage backs in football.
Bell sat out the entire 2018 season with the Pittsburgh Steelers in an effort to reach free agency and then chose to sign with the Jets. Moving on after a half-season's worth of work would have been a disappointing outcome for all sides.