Harbaugh Has Not Ruled Out Le'Veon Bell Vs. Raiders

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Ravens coach John Harbaugh has not ruled out activating running back Le'Veon Bell for the regular-series opener Monday night against the Las Vegas Raiders.

Bell signed with the Ravens practice squad this week. The NFL allows teams to activate two players from the practice squad before gameday.

"I think there's a chance. That's a possibility with the new rules," Harbaugh said.

The addition of Bell comes after the Ravens lost a pair of running backs this offseason. J.K. Dobbins suffered a season-ending knee injury and Justice Hill went down with a torn Achilles.

Bell ran just 63 times for 254 yards and two touchdowns in nine games with the Kansas City Chiefs last season. He then had a falling out with coach Andy Reid.

Bell has a history with Baltimore after spending five seasons with its AFC North rival, Pittsburgh Steelers, where he ran for more than 1,000 yards three times. He sat out the entire 2018 season in a contract dispute and later signed with the Jets and rushed for 789 yards in 2019.

Against Baltimore, he is 5-5 with 807 yards rushing and seven touchdowns. Bell has also caught 49 passes for 349 yards with another three scores.

"Le'Veon's a guy I think we're very familiar with, obviously," Harbaugh said. "We played against him so many times in so many highly competitive, emotional games. It was fun to have him in for the workout, he had a good workout. Practiced yesterday, did a good job.

"We'll have a process with him. He's excited, he's learning. We'll see where it goes. There's some familiarity that way, playing against him, defending him. After talking to him, felt real good about where he was at. All those things definitely play in."

Overall, Bell has run for 6,453 yards with 40 touchdowns over eight seasons.

Baltimore will carry three running backs and rotate them on the 53-man roster. The Ravens led the NFL in rushing in each of the past two years.

Gus Edwards will remain the starter with Ty'Son Williams perhaps behind him on the depth chart. However, the addition of Bell gives Baltimore another veteran presence, albeit a player who is looking to resurrect his career.