Why Bell Makes Perfect Sense for the Dolphins
The idea of Le'Veon Bell joining the Miami Dolphins grew more realistic Thursday with news suggesting he's cut down his list of potential destinations to three teams: the Dolphins, Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs.
Bell became a free agent Wednesday when he officially had his contract terminated by the New York Jets, who had failed in their attempt to trade him. The reason no team would trade for Bell but many would want to sign him is simple: his contract.
As a free agent now, teams just have to work out a contract with Bell and the deal is done.
And the Dolphins absolutely, positively are right to pursue Bell at this time.
Yes, he had a failed stint with the New York Jets after a nasty contract dispute with the Pittsburgh Steelers led him to sit out the entire 2018 season. And, no, he might not be the same back he was in his glory years (2014, 2016, 2017) when he was maybe the best all-around back in the game.
But he's still only 28 years old, we don't know how much the dysfunction around him in New York affected his performance, and the bottom line is he's still probably more talented than any back on the Dolphins roster.
No disrespect to Myles Gaskin, who's a wonderful story as a second-year seventh-round pick making an impact, or to Matt Breida, Patrick Laird, Jordan Howard or newcomer Salvon Ahmed, but none of them come close to matching Bell's all-around skills.
And, yes, it's painful that the Dolphins would be spending decent money on another running back after giving $5 million guaranteed to Jordan Howard in the offseason and then trading for Breida, but the idea is to make the team better.
As it is, the Dolphins are looking at heading into their bye with a 3-3 record and certainly with realistic hopes of making a push for the playoffs.
The running game has not been very good so far this season, no matter how good a story Gaskin has been, and maybe Bell could help revive it — though he'll need help from the offensive line for that to happen.
The Dolphins still are in the midst of a rebuilding project, but the goal has been from the start — yes, even last year — to win as much as possible while putting together a foundation for a perennial contender.
So if the Dolphins have the chance to add someone of Bell's pedigree without deviating from the long-term plan, why not do it?
Let's face it, it's not as though any of the running backs on the current roster are locks — or are even likely — to be key parts of the offense for the next three or four years. If anything, Bell maybe would have a better chance of being the feature back in, say, 2022 if he were to join the Dolphins now.
Of course, the numbers will have to make sense.
Head coach Brian Flores was asked Thursday morning about Bell and whether the Dolphins would be pursuing him.
“That’s really more of a question for (General Manager) Chris Grier," Flores said. "My focus right now is on the Jets and the players they have on their team. I’ve said this before, he’s a very good player. As a personnel staff, as an organization, we look at anyone who is available that could help our team. Obviously all conversations stay internal and quite honestly, my focus has been on preparation for this week. It’s really more of a question for Chris and the personnel staff. But, yeah, he’s a good player.”
For Bell, the appeal of the Bills and the Chiefs is the chance to play for two division leaders and two exciting quarterbacks, including the best in the game right now (Patrick Mahomes).
The allure of the Dolphins is the opportunity to join an up-and-coming franchise and play in a city he obviously likes since he has a home in South Florida.
One thing for sure, the Dolphins instantly will be a better team if they get Bell.
