Le'Veon Bell was a workhorse during his time with the Pittsburgh Steelers, leading the NFL with 321 carries during his last action with the club in 2017. But just because the Steelers heavily used him doesn't mean the New York Jets will follow suit.
Jets head coach Adam Gase says that the team will be monitoring Bell's workload in an attempt to keep him fresh:
“I think we'll start early to where he'll get a certain amount of reps that we use,” said Gase, according to Manish Mehta of The New York Daily News. “I mean, he is a veteran running back, he plays a position that's very physical.
“You can wear a guy out with too many rushes, too many touches, too many snaps, too many practice snaps. We'll keep an eye on that. I've always felt like I have a good feel of when a guy is either fatigued or we're heading in a direction of maybe we're wearing him down.”
Bell sat out all of 2018 due to a contract dispute with the Steelers, and in 2017, he held out through Week 1 due to the same issue, but eventually returned in Week 2 and ended up rushing for 1,291 yards and nine touchdowns while averaging four yards per carry. In addition, he hauled in 85 receptions for 655 yards and a couple of scores en route to a Pro Bowl appearance and a First-Team All-Pro selection.
So, while Bell has proven that he is certainly capable of carrying the load, Gase wants to take it easy with his new running back as not to burn him out, which is definitely a good idea.
Bell made three Pro Bowls during his time with Pittsburgh. He entered the league as a second-round pick back in 2013.
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