Le’Veon Bell hasn’t played in an NFL game in nearly 20 months so his body feels fresh and he craves a heavy workload.
Bell has passed on the message to coach Adam Gase that he is ready to see a lot of the football when he makes his New York Jets’ debut on Sunday against the visiting Buffalo Bills.
Bell’s words to Gase were “don’t hold back” and the 27-year-old expects the play caller to heed the advice in the opener.
“I can carry 50 (times) if you ask me,” Bell told reporters after Wednesday’s practice. “When I say, ‘Don’t hold back,’ I mean literally that. I don’t want to go out there and try to sprinkle me in or anything like that. I’m ready to play football.
“I’ve been waiting a long time for this moment. A lot of people are excited to see me play. Quadruple that, and that’s how I feel.”
Bell signed a four-year, $52.5 million deal with the Jets in the offseason. He refused to sign the franchise tender of $14.5 million with Pittsburgh last season and ended up sitting out the entire season.
Bell rushed for 5,336 yards and 35 touchdowns and caught 312 passes for 2,660 yards and seven scores during five seasons with Pittsburgh.
“I’m not trying to prove anybody wrong,” Bell said. “I’m not trying to prove the Steelers wrong. Everybody is trying to format me with the Steelers. I’m not talking about the Steelers anymore. I’m done talking about the Steelers. I want to worry about the Bills, and I want to worry about the Jets. That’s it.”
Bell and first-year coach Gase are trying to ignite a Jets squad that went 4-12 last season and missed the playoffs for the eighth straight campaign.
Second-year quarterback Sam Darnold displayed promise last season by passing for 2,865 yards and 17 touchdowns. But he also tossed 15 interceptions, tied for second most in the NFL.
Darnold is hoping to make strides this season under the tutelage of Gase.
“I think we’re going to do some fun things out there with all the tempo and all the different things we can do,” Darnold told reporters. “It’ll be fun. It will be fun to watch us and hopefully we are going to put up a lot of points.”
The Bills, who went 6-10 last season, also have a second-year quarterback in Josh Allen and he was intercepted 12 times last season while passing for 2,074 yards and 10 touchdowns. Allen also rushed for eight scores.
“The smartest play is the best play,” Allen said Wednesday. “The job of the quarterback is to get the ball to the playmakers and let them make plays.”
The Bills’ running back duties will be split up after the recent release of LeSean McCoy. Veteran Frank Gore, versatile T.J. Yeldon and third-round draft pick Devin Singletary will all be involved in the attack.
“Didn’t really expect it,” Singletary told reporters of the Bills cutting McCoy. “But that’s part of the business and what comes with it. It shows they believe in me, so now it’s time to see how it turns out. They believe in me, I believe in myself, so the sky is the limit and we’ll go from here.”
The Buffalo defense should get a lift from rookie defensive tackle Ed Oliver, the ninth overall pick of the 2019 draft. Solid safety Jordan Poyer had four interceptions last season.
New York added linebacker C.J. Mosley to a defensive core led by standout safety Jamal Adams. The Jets also selected nose tackle Quinnen Williams with the third overall choice in the 2019 draft.
