A day after his official release from the New York Jets, Le'Veon Bell could be headed right back to the AFC East. While ESPN reported Thursday that the former Pro Bowl running back intends to sign with either the Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs or Miami Dolphins, Bell's search has since narrowed to two teams, per The Athletic: The Chiefs and Dolphins. Not only that, but according to NFL Network's Mike Giardi, the Dolphins are making an especially strong run at the free agent, "waving around" a significant amount of money to lure Bell to Miami.
This comes amid an additional report by the Miami Herald's Adam Beasley, who said Thursday the Dolphins are likely willing to offer Bell a two-year contract, which would make them a "real player" in negotiations presumably centered on mostly one-year, incentive-laden deals. Giardi, meanwhile, did not specify how much money the Dolphins have proposed in talks with Bell, only suggesting it's "a lot." With the 2020 NFL trade deadline around the corner, Miami has just over $17 million in available salary cap space, per Spotrac.
The Athletic's Nate Taylor and Josh Tolentino reported Thursday, however, that the Chiefs could still be in play for the longtime Pittsburgh Steelers standout.
While the Chiefs offer him an immediate shot at contending for a Super Bowl, a move to Miami would be an easy transition for Bell, who lives and trains in South Florida during the offseason ... The Dolphins, according to sources, have the ability to offer Bell more money to join their roster. But (Chiefs GM Brett) Veach can counteroffer to Bell the chance to play next to (Patrick) Mahomes and be used as a versatile play-maker that can be given the ball in a multitude of ways within (Andy) Reid's dynamic offense.
It's unclear why the Bills are reportedly out of the mix for Bell, but they do have three notable names already in their backfield in Devin Singletary, Zack Moss and T.J. Yeldon. Miami has ridden second-year back Myles Gaskin this year but gotten limited contributions from Matt Breida and Jordan Howard, whereas the Chiefs have relied almost exclusively on rookie Clyde Edwards-Helaire.
