New York Jets' Le'Veon Bell talks Jamal Adams: He told me he wasn't going to force his way out

New York Jets running back Le'Veon Bell talks his disappointment in how former teammate Jamal Adams handled his exit.

Le’Veon Bell came clean on Wednesday about his social media dispute with former teammate Jamal Adams, an All-Pro safety who was the centerpiece of a blockbuster trade to the Seattle Seahawks last month.

Following the Jets trade of Adams, Bell took to Twitter and sounded off about how his now departed teammate handled things. One day before he was traded in late July, Adams, who was seeking a long-term deal to make him the highest-paid safety in the NFL, had an interview with the New York Daily News. In the all-encompassing interview, he trashed the Jets organization and in particular lashed out at head coach Adam Gase.

“Me and Jamal, we kind of had a conversation on the phone. I felt like when I came here – he kind of like was a big piece of why I came here in the first place,” Bell said Wednesday in a conference call with the media.

“I’m not making it seem like it was Jamal’s fault that I came here or nothing. I’m just saying, I thought we had a vision, me and him, had an understanding what we planned to do. I was going to come here, turn this thing around, this that or the other. You tell me one thing – then obviously I guess it kind of looked like he forced his way out in social media, and I was talking with him and he was telling me he wasn’t going to try and force his way out and do things like that," Bell said. "I’m not upset with Jamal. I want the best for Jamal – Jamal’s a great player, there’s nothing you can take away from that. He’s a great special player on the field. I love playing with him; he’s a great teammate too.”

This was Bell’s first time addressing his tweets and the war of words with Adams. The posts that followed the trade involved a back-and-forth between Adams and Bell that, while not necessarily ugly or over the top, certainly showed a friction between the two sides.

In his tweet, Bell wrote that “ppl do all the hootin & hollerin to get you brought in, just to leave...lol like people weird yooo, the internet got these dudes doin whatever for attention, even when they tell you sh*t they don’t believe themselves.” 

In 2018 when a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Bell sat out the season in his won contract dispute. The All-Pro running back signed with the Jets last offseason on a four-year, $52.5 million contract.

He cited Adams, one of the game’s most elite defensive players, as a major reason why he chose the Jets in free agency.