Le’Veon Bell may have to wait to make his Jets debut until Week 1 of the regular season according to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News.
Adam Gase has teetered back and forth on whether the Jets will play Bell in the preseason. Bell is completely understanding of the coaching staff’s decision to hold him out of preseason play, considering he sat out all of 2018. Bell has also not played in a preseason game since 2016 and does not feel like he needs preseason reps in order to be ready for the regular season.
“I just liked his week of practice,” Gase told reporters when asked why Bell didn’t play against the Falcons in Week 2 of the preseason. “He got a ton of reps this week. We’ll kind of see how next week goes. He’s played a lot of football. And I like where he’s at right now. I love how he’s working. If I feel like there’s a need to play him next week, we will. If he has a good week of practice and it’s not worth it for us to get him out there, then we won’t.”
If the Jets decide to hold out Bell next Saturday against the New Orleans Saints in the team’s third preseason game, he will not see the field until September 8 against the Buffalo Bills, as starters rarely take the field in Week 4 of the preseason. The third game of the preseason is considered a dress rehearsal for the starters, while the fourth game is an opportunity for players on the roster bubble to make an impression.
As he did in the Jets’ first preseason game, Bell warmed up pre-game with his teammates and then spent the rest of the game on the sideline.
