Earlier this offseason, the New York Jets lavished Le'Veon Bell with a four-year, $52.5 million contract. Bell sat out the entirety of last season in hope of securing his payday, and while he lost a whole lot of money last year in the process, he ended up getting what he wanted.
With voluntarily mini-camps under way, however, Bell is nowhere to be found. He's decided to sit them out. Why? Well, let Bell tell you himself.
So, that's pretty definitive.
Bell plans to report only "when it's time to play football." Why? "I got to stick to the formula that I know works for me to be the best player I can be. I'm not just [trying to] win football games. I want a ring! I want to desperately show everyone what I can REALLY do."
And while he's certainly being criticized in some circles in and around the league, "I'll take the heat right now," Bell said. "Everyone will forget about that once January comes around."
The Jets will have to show a lot of improvement in order to be playing football when January comes around. They finished just 4-12 last season and have not made the playoffs since 2010. Perhaps with Bell complementing Sam Darnold in the backfield they can get where they want to go, but there's certainly a whole lot of work still to be done.