Report: Le’Veon Bell Seen Bowling Saturday Night, Hours After Being Ruled Out of Dolphins Game
Le’Veon Bell missed Sunday’s Jets game against the Dolphins with an illness. But according to the New York Post, Bell was seen bowling at a local New Jersey bowling alley Saturday night until the establishment closed.
He was reportedly there from around 10:30 p.m. to close at 1 a.m.
Bell was sent home Friday with an illness, missing his second straight day of practice. Head coach Adam Gase said he was not present at the team’s walk-through on Saturday, nor was he seen at MetLife Stadium on Sunday when the Jets beat the Dolphins 22–21.
Bell has been in the middle of one of the worst statistical seasons in his career. He’s rushed for only 589 yards on 183 carries, a career-low 3.2 yard-per-carry average. He has 55 receptions, the second most on the team, but he’s averaging only 83 total yards per game.
The Michigan State product, who signed a free agent contract worth $52.5 million over four years this past offseason, had just 10 carries in New York’s 22–6 loss to Cincinnati in Week 13.
“I would love to put the game on my back and take games over,” Bell said last week on his weekly podcast on Sirius XM. “I haven't had one of those games this year yet. A lot of people don't think I'm the same player or that I can't do that. That's just because I haven't had the opportunity really to show. As time goes on, we'll get better. We'll find a way to make things shake."
Gase told reporters Monday that Bell was “pretty close to 100%” and seemed to allude to him playing Thursday night at the Ravens. Kickoff is set for 8:20 p.m.