On Thursday, Jets running back Le’Veon Bell said that four teams had talked to the Jets about trading for him: the Texans, Chiefs, Packers, and Steelers.
On Sunday, ESPN reported that Bell was telling the truth.
Adam Schefter of ESPN, citing unnamed sources, reports that the Texans, Chiefs, Packers, and Steelers explored trading for Bell. (Although Schefter mentions that Bell said himself that the Steelers were “in the mix,” the item from Schefter doesn’t mention that Bell also flagged the Texans, Chiefs, and Packers as interested teams.)
It’s kind of a strange situation, to say the least. Given, however, that some expressed skepticism that Bell was being honest or accurate as to the teams that tried to trade for him, it apparently made sense to confirm that Bell’s version of the events was accurate.
Bell’s comments from Thursday seemed to suggest that a new team may have wanted Bell to rework a contract that will pay him $27 million fully guaranteed through 2020. Bell made it clear that he would not have reduced his expected pay.
And so he remains with the Jets, presumably since he’s due to make half of the $27 million next season -- and since no other team may be willing to pay him $13.5 million in 2020.