Le’Veon Bell believes Melvin Gordon is doing the right thing.
Gordon wants an extension from Los Angeles and was placed on the reserve/did not report list earlier this week after he did not arrive at training camp. Bell, who is entering his first season with the Jets, was asked about Gordon’s situation when he spoke with reporters Thursday.
“I’m proud of him,” Bell said, via NJ.com. "He knows his worth. That’s a guy I’ve talked to. I’ve known him since he was at Wisconsin and I was at Michigan State. Me and him have got a nice little bond.”
Bell, a three-time Pro Bowl player, missed all of 2018 after holding out from the Steelers over a contract dispute. He then went on to sign a four-year, $52.5 million deal with the Jets this offseason.
“I’m always going to support him, obviously, because he feels like he knows his worth,” Bell said about Gordon. “I hope he goes out there and gets what he deserves.”
Gordon, meanwhile, was originally selected out of Wisconsin by the Chargers with the No. 15 pick in the 2015 draft. He has rushed for 3,628 yards and scored 38 total touchdowns during his four-year career.
"I want to end up with the Chargers," Gordon said earlier this month during an appearance at SportsCon 2019. "I mean, that's my home. I'm not going to sit here and be like, ‘I don't want to go back to the Chargers.’ That's the team who blessed me with an opportunity. They changed my life. Out of all 32 teams, that was the team that called. I can't forget them for that.
"But like I said, it's an opportunity right now where I know I need to take advantage of it. I want to get paid. And that's just kind of what it is. Hopefully I end up a Charger, that's the goal. I want to end as a Charger."
Melvin Gordon at @GoSportsCon says he wants to ultimately work things out with the Chargers. pic.twitter.com/8hZiAERpLW
— Bobby Belt (@BobbyBeltTX) July 13, 2019
Gordon is scheduled to make around $5.6 million this season in the final year of his rookie contract, according to Spotrac. He’ll “sit as long as he has to,” his agent, Fletcher Smith, recently said during an interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio.