Buffalo Bills should avoid temptation of trading for Le’Veon Bell

The Buffalo Bills should avoid the temptation of trying to swing a trade for New York Jets’ running back Le’Veon Bell.

This season Le’Veon Bell discovered that the grass is not always greener on the other side as the New York Jets look to part ways with him.

In a report published by Pro Football News insider, Tony Pauline discovered that the New York Jets relationship with Le’Veon Bell is one that does not seem like it will last. He reported in his ‘mailbag‘ segment that: ” It’s best for everyone involved if the Jets and Bell part company.”

This comes on the heels of a less than characteristic season for the former Steeler who has rushed for over 1,200 yards in a season on three separate occasions. This past season with the Jets, Bell looked like a shell of his former self within Adam Gase offense.

In 2015 during his time with the Steelers, Bell appeared in only six games due to a torn MCL suffered in the Steelers loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. Interestingly enough, Bell finished that season with 556 yards and three touchdowns which is 233 less than he recorded with the Jets this year but played in nine more games. He finished the 2019 season with 789 yards and three touchdowns and a career-low 50.26 yards per game.

But would the addition of Bell be for the betterment of the Buffalo Bills? Many reasons point to no.

Firstly, it would cost the Bills. Be it that Bell is still under contract with the Jets for three more years, and the Jets would command a hefty premium if they were to part ways with Bell.

Furthermore, Buffalo would likely have to deal some of their young talents along with draft picks which would result in acquiring pennies on the dollar for a running back who will reach the dreaded age of 30 when his contract expires. This would not make a lot of sense for the Bills as they have seen exponential growth from their 2019 third round draft pick, Devin Singletary, who rushed for 775 yards in his rookie season.

Speaking of Singletary, bringing in an All-Pro talent such as Bell would disrupt his growth. The reason why Singletary was so effective this year was that the one-two punch of Frank Gore and Singletary allowed the first-year running back to learn behind one of the best to ever do it both on and off the field. Gore’s off the field influence and guidance was captured by Thad Brown when the team played Washington as he made sure the rookie got the chance to speak with Adrain Peterson. The tandem combined for 921 yards on the ground and four touchdowns.

Additionally, Bell would not come cheap entering his second season of a four year, $52 million deal. With a cap hit of over 15 million dollars in 2020, his addition would cut into the Bills’ cap space of 82 million dollars left for bringing in replacements for the retiring Lorenzo Alexander, among the free agents who will test the market this offseason.

With this year’s draft class being loaded with offensive talent at both the wide receiver position and the running back position, dealing assets and draft capital would be a step in the wrong direction.

The Buffalo Bills are on the upswing as they reached the playoffs for the second time in three years and now is not a time to disturb the potential powerhouse that is growing in Western New York.