Running back Le’Veon Bell isn’t expected to be a free agent for very long, which is a good thing on a number of different fronts. As Bell looks to put the miserable New York Jets chapter of his season behind him, he will likely be glad to finalize a new team and more forward. And for Miami Dolphins fans, finding some answers to whether or not the team is interested will produced a different kind of relief. Because over the past 24 hours, there has been much speculation about if the Dolphins are interested and how serious of a contender they should be considered for his services.
Depending on who you ask, you’ll hear both extremes. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the Miami Dolphins were among the handful of teams speaking with the Jets about potentially making a deal for Bell.
Prior to releasing Le’Veon Bell, the Jets had trade conversations with the #Dolphins, #Patriots and #Raiders 👀 pic.twitter.com/BjYjyc8ksX
— Roto Street Journal (RSJ) (@RotoStJournal) October 14, 2020
The hangup? Bell had significant money in his contract locked in as injury guaranteed for 2021 — $8M worth. And that’s an albatross that no team wanted to take on, a testament to how bad the contract was that the Jets signed Bell to ahead of the 2019 season.
But then there’s the Miami Herald’s Armando Salguero, who reported last night that the Miami Dolphins showed “no interest” in a trade for Bell with the Jets,
The #Dolphins showed no interest in trading for Le'Veon Bell when the #Jets were trying to trade him. Don't know if that will remain team's position going forward but that's what it was before Bell was released.
— Armando Salguero (@ArmandoSalguero) October 14, 2020
Salguero does concede that now that the Jets have released Bell, Miami’s interest level may change. But it isn’t too regular that the local writers and a national figure like Schefter come out with conflicting reports this far apart regarding a team’s interest.
Rumors swirled last night that Bell would be making his decision sooner rather than later — and some of them included the Dolphins among the “final five” contenders for his services. This will be a story that evolves quickly and we may even get an answer this afternoon. But for now, Miami is in the running…we think.
