Gase running Le'Veon out of New York

With the recent firing of Jets GM, Mike Maccagan, and VP of player personnel, Brian Heimerdinger, the Jets have promoted head coach Adam Gase as interim GM. This has caused some underlying issues to rise to the surface between Gase and newly acquired RB, Le'Veon Bell. Gase and Maccagan/Heimerdinger had several disagreements in regards to recent signings, including both CJ Mosley and Le'Veon Bell.

Bell, who sat out all of last year with the Steelers over contract disputes, was a highly sought after FA. He signed with the Jets in March for a 4-year $52 million deal, with $27 million guaranteed, $8 million signing bonus, and up to $9 million in performance incentives. Sources say that Gase didn't want to sign Bell and actually didn't want to spend a lot of money on running backs in general.

“There’s been a BUNCH of false reports and speculation about me in the past about things I’ve said and done, so I’m used to this,” Bell tweeted. “I don’t jump to conclusions when I hear or see a story that may affect me.

“Even if reports are true, that won’t stop me from doing what I came here to do…everyone has a job to do, and I’m gonna do mine whether people “like” me or not. I’m here to win football games.”

Bells response to Gase's Comments

With Gase taking over the GM position, trading Bell is not out of the question. He already traded LB Darron Lee to the Chiefs in exchange for a 6th round pick. Lee was pick 1.20 in the 2016 NFL Draft, but didn't perform well over the last three years. The Jets took the overall loss, trading a first round pick just 3 years ago for a 6th round pick. That tells us that Gase won't be afraid to trade Bell to clear cap space to spend money elsewhere.

Unlike the Lee trade, the offer needs to be more beneficial for the Jets before Gase will ship him off. Here are a _____ teams that could potentially land Le'Veon Bell.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Bucs running game has been very underwhelming since the glory days of Doug Martin... They currently have Peyton Barber and 2nd year RB Ronald Jones, who was plagued with injury his rookie year. Bell would be a great addition to Mike Evans, OJ Howard, and would relieve some pressure for Jameis Winston.

The Bucs don't have enough cap space to land Bell without moving some assets of their own. The likely player to move would be Gerald McCoy, who has a $13 million cap hit this year. This would create a scary D line, pairing McCoy with Leonard Williams and the third overall pick in this years #NFLDraft, Quinnen Williams.

Green Bay Packers

I hate to say this, but they are an option. The Packers were in the conversation for Bell back before he signed with the Jets. They are better known for building their team through the draft, and rarely have made big splashes in FA or through trades. However, this past year they splurged with the signings of Preston Smith, Za'Darius Smith, and Adrian Amos, so it wouldn't be surprising if they offer something for Bell. They currently have around $9 million in cap space and could send a high draft pick to New York, or potentially package Mike Daniels (near $11 million cap hit this year) to get Bell.

Oakland Raiders

The raiders are another potential landing spot for Bell. Beast mode (Marshawn Lynch) recently retired (again), leaving the Raiders with a muddy backfield. They also lost recently signed Isaiah Crowell for the season to a torn achilles. Their roster now consists of Doug Martin, Jalen Richard, and DeAndre Washington. Gruden likes to make trades (he traded both Mack and Cooper last year), and it would pair him former teammate and drama queen, Antonio Brown. The raiders have plenty of cap space, $29 million, so they could offer future draft picks to land Bell.

It is all speculation for now, but I wouldn't be surprised if we see a trade in the future. Gase is trying to create a better culture in New York, and Bell might not fit in. As tensions start to rise between Gase and Bell, trade talks with start to form.

Check us out on Instagram and Twitter for more updates, and let us know where you think Bell could get traded to!