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- Mar 16, 2019
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Le’Veon Bell hasn’t played professional football since Jan. 14, 2018, meaning it will be more than 600 days between games when he takes the field Sunday for the Jets.
So his message to coach Adam Gase this week was simple.
“When I spoke to him [Tuesday] he said, ‘Don’t hold back.’ He feels like he’s ready to go,” Gase said, via Brian Costello of the New York Post. “I think he’s pretty excited to get out there.”
Bell didn’t play last season because of his contractual unpleasantness with the Steelers, and he didn’t play in the preseason because that would be foolish.
So when he faces the Bills, he’s going to be well-rested and ready to run.
He better, after the Jets gave him a four-year, $52.5 million contract this offseason.
“I think he’s just excited to get out there,” Gase said. “You kind of get a taste of it when we had that stadium practice where you could see he was pretty juiced up. He has a good look about him right now. He looks like he’s excited to get to a game day. . . .
“I love it. It’s going to be fun. It’s one thing to call plays in practice but to know that you have him back there and then possibly going back and watching some Pittsburgh tape to remind ourselves who that is back there, it’s a good feeling.”
When he’s played, he’s been one of the dynamic players in the league, so many people will be watching to see how the long layoff affects him.