Le’Veon Bell Makes It Crystal Clear Why He Picked the Kansas City Chiefs
Le’Veon Bell is a few days removed from making the career-changing decision to sign with the Kansas City Chiefs. Bell has a fresh start to be a high-impact factor in Kansas City after his rocky brief tenure with the New York Jets. The star running back has now finally revealed why he chose to play with the Chiefs.
Le’Veon Bell signs with the Chiefs
Le’Veon Bell’s less-than-fruitful tenure with the Jets came to an abrupt end last week after the franchise released him.
Bell didn’t take long in narrowing down his choices in free agency as he spoke to the Chiefs, Buffalo Bills, and Miami Dolphins. The process took a couple of days as the Pro Bowler cut it down further between Kansas City and Miami but ultimately chose to play for the defending Super Bowl champions.
The 28-year-old agreed to a one-year deal with a $1 million base salary for the rest of the 2020 season. The contract can reach upwards of $1.69 million maximum if Bell reaches his playing time and playoff incentives. Bell’s decision to take the less-than lucrative offer from the Chiefs comes after making roughly $28 million in 18 games with the Jets.
Why Le’Veon Bell chose to sign with Kansas City
The dust has settled a bit around Le’Veon Bell’s monumental decision to sign with the Chiefs.
Kansas City has added another dynamic skilled-position player to their explosive offense, increasing their chances for a Super Bowl push. During Bell’s introductory press conference on Wednesday, he voiced that the opportunity to play for head coach Andy Reid and taking the field with Patrick Mahomes were enough to sway him to join the franchise.
“Once I was a free agent talking to coach Reid, it was just undeniable to try to come here and help this team in any way I can help them out. The opportunity to play for coach Reid is a magnificent opportunity for me. Patty Mahomes…I’ve never played with a player MVP-wise so it’s gonna be fun. I think it’s a lot of weapons, it’s gonna be fun for me.”
Bell’s tenure with the Jets was a struggle as the franchise had tremendous difficulty finding its footing over the last two seasons. New York lacks stability throughout the organization, while he dealt with internal issues with head coach Adam Gase, who wasn’t a fan of his signing with New York in the first place.
The three-time Pro Bowler now has a clean slate with the Chiefs to be another piece in the puzzle to guide the team back to the Super Bowl.
What will be his role in the offense?
The Chiefs already possessed a stacked group of offensive talent around star quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Kansas City has taken that up another notch by adding a potential premier asset to their backfield. The team possesses their long-term future locked into place with stellar rookie Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who has quickly proven to be worth all the hype.
Bell holds the proven track record of being a dynamic playmaker behind his dual-threat ability earning him three Pro Bowl selections and recognition as one of the NFL’s best running backs. However, his tenure with the Jets took a significant hit to that latter notion due to inconsistency and injuries.
Bell won’t be playing anywhere near the primary workload he has had throughout his career. He can bring another pivotal element to the table that could be the difference in another run to the Super Bowl in Kansas City.
