Le'Veon Bell is out to prove something to the Steelers.
The 27-year-old running back was originally selected by Pittsburgh out of Michigan State in the second round of the 2013 draft and spent his first five seasons with the team. But, he held out for all of 2019 over a contract dispute before signing a four-year, $52.5 million contract with the Jets in March.
Bell was asked about the situation with the Steelers during a recent interview with USA Today.
“Even before I got to Pittsburgh, you always got to look somewhere to find that chip on your shoulder for motivation,” Bell said. “So when I got to Pittsburgh, I used that from the draft. I remember all the teams that passed on me. ‘I’m going to make you regret it.’ Then I got to Pittsburgh and we had the whole contract thing that happened. It didn’t work out in Pittsburgh. I’m out of Pittsburgh. And now I’m in a new city, a new team, and a lot of people haven’t even given us a chance cause they don’t like our roster. They think we don’t have the talent.
“I’m thinking I’m going to show everybody. I’m going to show people that, look, Pittsburgh had something special and they let it go. That’s what I’m going to go out there and do.”
GAME WEEK... it’s real now! pic.twitter.com/O1tSpF2Emg
— Le'Veon Bell (@LeVeonBell) September 2, 2019
Bell rushed for 35 touchdowns and made three Pro Bowls during his time with the Steelers.
“I would do everything the same,” Bell said. “I wouldn’t change a thing.”
The Jets fired former coach Todd Bowles in late December and hired Adam Gase to replace him. New York quarterback Sam Darnold told reporters he expects the team's offense to be "electric" this season with the additions of Bell and Gase.
“I think we’re going to do some fun things out there with all the tempo and all the different things we can do," Darnold said (via the team's official website). "It’ll be fun, it will be fun to watch us and hopefully we are going to put up a lot of points.”
The Jets will open the regular season against the Bills on Sunday.