#Le’Veon Bell coy on Jets exit amid ‘magnificent’ Chiefs chance

After Gase declined to look back at whether the Jets misused Bell during his time in New York, the running back offered a similar tone Wednesday in his first press conference as a Chief when asked why things didn’t work out with the Jets.

“It’s not too much I can say about why it didn’t work in New York,” Bell told reporters. “It just didn’t work out. The fact that it didn’t, it kind of led me to the position I am [in] here today.”

In a matter of days last week, Bell went from the bottom of the AFC East to the defending Super Bowl champs after the Jets released him. It ended a rocky tenure in New York in which Bell played 17 games and earned $27.5 million of a four-year, $52.5 million contract he signed in 2019.

In a Jets uniform, Bell rushed for 863 yards on 264 carries, caught 69 passes for 500 yards and scored just four total touchdowns while eventually growing upset about how he was being used.

After the Jets were unsuccessful in finding a trade partner for Bell, he was finally cut loose, allowing him to choose his own landing spot.

“When I had the opportunity, once I was a free agent, talking to coach [Andy] Reid … it was just kind of undeniable to come here, help this team any ways I can help them out,” Bell said. “The opportunity to play with coach Reid is going to be magnificent for me. Play with these players, Patty Mahomes — I’ve never played with a player MVP-wise. So it’s going to be fun. It’s a lot of weapons. It’s going to be fun for me.”

It remains to be seen how the Chiefs will use Bell, with rookie running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire already at the top of their depth chart and plenty of dynamic targets for Patrick Mahomes to throw to. But Bell sounded more than happy to join his new team.

“When I decided to come here, I already knew the weapons and there’s only one football to go around. So I was like, ‘This is unbelievable,’” Bell said. “I think it’s going to be a lot of opportunity to kind of show what I can do with some space, running routes. I think this offense is really fit for my skill set.”