The New York Jets have placed running back Le’Veon Bell on IR following the disheartening loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 1.
Running back is becoming thin for the New York Jets. Le’Veon Bell has been placed in IR, according to NFL Network’s Kim Jones.
#NYJ place Le’Veon Bell (hamstring) on IR, via source. Eligible to return in three weeks.
— Kim Jones (@KimJonesSports) September 15, 2020
Bell, 28, exited the Jets’ disheartening 27-17 Week 1 loss to the Buffalo Bills. It’s a hamstring injury, the very same soft-tissue area that prompted the minor scuffle between Bell and head coach Adam Gase in August.
Gase, while on a conference call with the media, blames himself for not taking Bell out of the Bills game upon first concern.
“I’m mad at myself that I let him go back in there in the second half,” Gase said.
Bell finished the game with just 14 yards on six carries on the ground and 32 yards on two receptions. The hammy injury occurred on a wheel route that fell incomplete. Bell was bumped by a defender, and he grabbed his hamstring while falling to the ground.
Instead of immediately calling it a day, he remained involved.
“That play looked bad,” Gase said of the wheel route that ended badly for Bell. “I’m watching, and I thought it was going to be a touchdown, then he got grabbed. And kind of the way he planted and torqued, it looked really bad.
“I saw him grab his hamstring and he wouldn’t come out. We come in at halftime. I let him go back in there. I was worried about it, and we were eventually like, ‘I can’t put you in there. We can’t take a chance on getting more hurt than you already are.'”
After a poor initial season with the Jets, Bell was excited to rebound in 2020. He won’t be eligible to return until Week 5.
Shortly after the Bell report, the Jets announced the signing of Kalen Ballage to the active roster.
The Jets are slated to take on the San Francisco 49ers this Sunday in Week 2 action.
