If you thought things couldn't get any worse for the New York Jets after they lost to the previously winless Miami Dolphins on Sunday, you were wrong. The day after his team looked like it did not belong on the field with a squad that had been getting mocked for weeks for its commitment to losing, Jets coach Adam Gase told assembled New York media on Monday that running back Le'Veon Bell was getting an MRI on his knee, and that he did not know the severity of any injury to his team's starting running back.
Bell has a history of missing time due to injuries, including a hyper-extended knee in 2014 and a torn MCL and LCL in 2015. If Bell has to miss time, he will likely be replaced by the combination of Ty Montgomery and Bilal Powell. Montgomery was rumored before the season to be in line for a sizable role in the offense, but that never came to fruition. Powell had split the work with Isaiah Crowell last season before the Jets signed Bell.
Bell was reportedly on the trade block ahead of last week's deadline, but the team ended up hanging onto him. Later in the week he met with Gase about his recent lack of touches (he had 15, 15, and 11 total touches in Weeks 6-8), and ended up handling 25 touches during the loss to the Dolphins.
It would be slightly inaccurate to call Bell the lone bright spot in the Jets' season to date because there really haven't been any bright spots, but he has been out there on the field and at the center of the offense every week this season, which cannot be said for many of the team's other foundational pieces. In eight games he has 165 total touches for 657 yards and two scores.
