KC Chiefs players with added motivation in Super Bowl LV
By Scott Loring
Le’Veon Bell
Running back Le’Veon Bell was certainly the most high-profile acquisition of the Chiefs in 2020. The soon-to-be-29-year-old could be a wild card in what will be the biggest game of his career on Sunday. In his career, Bell has played in one Conference Championship Game, when his Steelers lost to the Patriots in January of 2017. After suffering a knee injury in Week 16 against the Falcons, Bell sat out in Week 17’s meaningless game against the Chargers. Two weeks later he took the field in the Chiefs’ divisional round victory against the Browns, but the knee clearly was not ready yet and Bell was inactive again for the Conference Championship against Buffalo.
Whether Bell can take back the RB2 snaps from Darrel Williams is up for discussion as well. Williams has played extremely well in a limited role in January, and has earned the trust of the offensive coaching staff. If Bell’s knee is ready, he may receive a few looks on Sunday, but the volume is not likely with Tampa Bay’s vaunted rush defense and Kansas City’s proclivity to throw the ball. His biggest contribution could be in pass protection, where the Chiefs may need the 6’1″ 225-lb. back to help an offensive line that will be playing as short-handed as they’ve ever been this season.
Bell is in Kansas City on a one-year deal, and while he has not garnered a huge statistical output to help in his next contract negotiation, he has made it clear that this season hasn’t been about that. It’s been an unconventional route for Bell to get this far, but here he is, on the cusp of his first-ever championship.