Sammy Watkins, Le’Veon Bell among Chiefs with most to gain (or lose) in stretch run

Le’Veon Bell

Let’s make a disclaimer here from the outset, because Le’Veon Bell is operating under a different set of rules going forward here than, say, Watkins or others on the list below.

For Bell, his ability to earn a significant payday once again this coming offseason is all about doing exactly what he’s doing now: performing well when called upon and being a team player in and around those moments.

So far this season, Bell has only 23 carries for 79 yards and 1 touchdown in four games with the Chiefs. Those numbers wouldn’t even turn your head if they were the result of a single game, let alone a full month’s worth of work on the ground, but again that doesn’t matter so much. The Chiefs already have several offensive mouths to feed, including Clyde Edwards-Helaire as a colleague in the backfield, so Bell was never going to be the, ahem, Bell cow.

But here’s the thing: the Chiefs haven’t fully unveiled Bell as a primary offensive weapon and it will be interesting to see if there are offensive wrinkles in the works for when the games matter the most. In fact, would it surprise anyone to see Bell pull off some late-season heroics in games against the Bucs, Dolphins, or Saints?

What Bell needs to do for the rest of 2020 is to be a model teammate (check) and remind us all just enough of how dangerous his patient running style can be when deployed. On the defensive side, it’s maddening. Now that he’s on the Chiefs, it’s exciting to think of what is to come down the stretch.