Le’Veon Bell hates Andy Reid for telling him what everyone else has said

Andy Reid was only implementing what everyone else has been trying to tell Le’Veon Bell this offseason. Too bad he had to take things so personally and in such a public way.

If you missed the brouhaha of the last few days, former K.C. Chiefs running back Le’Veon Bell commented on an Instagram post that he “would never play for Andy Reid again” and that he would “retire first” before allowing that to happen. Just to get past the evidence, here it is.

Just like that, the post began to spread like wildfire on both Chiefs and NFL socials and posts creeped up blasting Bell in a number of ways. Chiefs fans took shots at him and defended their head coach. Posts were written in analysis of it all. It was the latest bit of offseason drama that helps churn news feeds in a dry season for the National Football League.

What’s really interesting about Bell’s comments is that he’s clearly taking things personally this offseason and channeling all of that through his old coach. But it’s not as if Andy Reid was the only one keeping Bell from playing.

Le’Veon Bell isn’t getting the hint from NFL teams.

The assumption here is that Bell signed with the Chiefs on a one-year deal last season to become a sort of tandem back with Clyde Edwards-Helaire as the team made a championship run. At the time, the signing made Chiefs fans quite excited about the high-end potential of the running game. By season’s end, Bell himself was an afterthought, Edwards-Helaire was relegated to the bench, and the Chiefs were somehow attaching their rushing attack to Darrel Williams in the postseason when it mattered the most.

Let’s be clear that the offensive line, at that point, was a complete mess, so who knows how effective anyone would have been behind that line. Also Williams looked like an impact player at that point, and his story ascending the depth chart is one of the team’s best. However, Bell had a real complaint at that point—unless, that is, everyone else is saying the same thing, too.

We have to assume that the core argument for Bell is this: “You didn’t use me when you could have. I thought I would play more and I didn’t.” There’s a sense of betrayal there, and so he’s stated he’s never playing for Andy Reid again. He’s learned his “lesson.”

But look at free agency right now. Ameer Abdullah has a job. Wayne Gallman is gainfully employed. The same can be said for Corey Clement, Brian Hill, Taiwan Jones, and Theo Riddick. You know who is still sitting out there waiting on someone to ask him to dance? Le’Veon Bell.

In short, if Bell is angry that Andy Reid wouldn’t put him on the field, he should already realize that, at least at present, no one else wants him on the field either. His last three seasons were a year-long holdout, a miserable year with the Jets in ’19 (with a 3.2 yards/carry average) and then last year’s forgotten season with the Chiefs (in which he put up 63 carries for 254 yards and 2 rushing touchdowns). At this point, you have to ask why anyone would come calling.

Even Todd Gurley has teams at least interested in bringing him in for a visit, and the Detroit Lions are being vocal about their interest. In mid-June, Bell feels like the same sort of back. Some team will likely bring him into the fold for training camp as a veteran back and backfield partner for other younger players. Maybe he’ll even make the team. But if he’s hoping for some return to his glory years, they’re long gone at this point. It’s not as if Andy Reid purposefully shelved Bell just to make him mad.

Instead, Reid was simply saying in advance what everyone else is trying to tell him this offseason.