Le’Veon Bell’s eye-opening explanation of why he picked Chiefs over the Dolphins

Adam H. Beasley
·2 min read

After forcing his way out of New York back in October, star running back Le’Veon Bell had three potential destinations: the Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills.

It was one of the toughest decisions of his career.

In the end, he chose winning over production.

Bell ultimately signed a one-year, $1 million contract with the eventual AFC champion Chiefs, of which he earned a little over $700,000.

He joined a championship team with a deep backfield, and as a result he started just two games and rushed for just 254 yards and two touchdowns on 64 carries.

On Tuesday, ahead of his first Super Bowl appearance, the ex-Steelers and Jets back explained why he said no to Miami and yes to Kansas City:

“That night was kind of little hectic,” Bell said. “The Dolphins were definitely in the mix, I was so torn between how much of a workload did I actually want vs. winning? At that time, [after my time] with the Jets, I was so focused on winning, I didn’t really care about how my production would look. It got so frustrating losing.

“I had already missed three games earlier in the season,” he added. “I [was] going to miss half the games this year. I want to go somewhere where I can still have my body and still help the team win. That’s what separated the Dolphins and the Chiefs. I felt like if I went to the Dolphins, I would have done a little more. It’s hard even trying to explain it. But it was real close between the Dolphins, Bills and Chiefs.”

Since signing a four-year, $52.5 million contract with New York prior to the 2019 season, Bell has totaled a little over 1,100 yards after averaging over 1,000 per season in his first years — all spent with the Steelers. He sat out the entire 2018 season over a contract dispute.

But he believes all of those choices have set him up to play for years to come.

Bell, asked his thoughts about the Dolphins organization, said this:

“I think they’ve got some good young players, a great head coach. ... Great defense. We played them and their defense is really solid. They’re building some good things over there.

“We’ll see what happens.”