JC Deep Dive: Bell's future with Jets

Will Le’Veon Bell be a Jet in 2020? A lot of Jets fans would love to know the answer to that.

Yes, he’s under contract with Gang Green for three more years, but in reality, his contract really only has one more year of teeth.

In March, Bell signed a four-year contract for $52.5 million, but only $27 million of that is guaranteed, so his deal is essentially a two-year deal for $27 million. If the Jets release him this offseason, they will incur a big cap hit, but next offseason, a very small one. According to the NFL contract web site “Spotrac,” if Bell is cut in 2020, his deal will account for $17 million in dead cap space, but the next season just $4 million. So the ideal time for the Jets to move on from Bell, if they are inclined to do so, is in 2021.

However, we get the sense that it’s not a slamdunk he’ll be a Jet in 2020. A few things might need to change to guarantee Bell staying with the team next season.

Let’s take a deep dive into when the bell will toll on the running back’s Jets career.

Did GM send a message?

After the season, Jets GM Joe Douglas said something on 98.7 ESPN Radio that made a lot of news.

“We value Le’Veon,” Douglas said. “We value the competitor. We value the teammate. We’re excited (for him) being in our program another year, going through our offseason again.”

This quote was featured in a lot of Jets stories all over the Internet.

But in our opinion, most people missed the most significant part of this quote.

Everyone was focused on Douglas saying how they “value” Bell, but to us, the end of the quote was the most newsworthy: “We’re excited (for him) being in our program another year, going through our offseason again.”