Jamal Adams and Le’Veon Bell were the highest-profile Jets players whose names surfaced before Tuesday’s trade deadline. Adams was furious that the Jets would even consider trading him, but Bell said he understood.
Bell told reporters today that young players like Adams sometimes take things personally that older players like himself realize are just business.
“If I was a 24-year-old, I probably would have felt the same way,” Bell said. “But as a guy who went through free agency and had to sit out a whole year, I understand the way the NFL does business. I understand the whole business aspect of it. So I didn’t take offense to it.”
Bell added that he does not think General Manager Joe Douglas went behind his back to talk about trading him, an allegation that Adams made.
The reality is, Bell is right: Every player could be traded for a good enough offer, and if Adams doesn’t realize that, that just shows that Bell knows the business better than Adams does.