OUT ALREADY
Hamstring injury to keep Le’Veon sidelined a few weeks
Le’Veon Bell’s nightmarish second act after leaving Pittsburgh added another chapter Sunday when he left with a hamstring injury that could keep him out “a couple weeks,” according to Adam Gase.
Bell was hurt after Bills l i n e b a c k e r A . J. K l e i n grabbed him on a route late in the first half. The Jets running back landed awkwardly before grabbing his left hamstring. He was pulled for good in the third quarter.
“I just know what kind of shape he’s in,” Gase said Monday about when to expect Bell back. “His work ethic and the way he finds ways to play through injury and how he bounces back. I just wouldn’t be surprised if he came back quicker than anticipated. I don’t want to put any kind of restrictions on him.”
Hamstring injuries tend to linger, so it would be a stretch to anticipate Bell back in time for next week’s game against the reigning NFC Champion 49ers. His injury puts Gase in the unenvious position of having to r o l l o u t 3 7-y e a r- o l d Frank Gore and Josh Adams this weekend. It’s unclear whether fourthround pick La’Mical Perine, who missed the season opener due to an ankle inj u r y, w i l l b e a v a i l a b l e against one of the league’s best defenses.
“We’ll see with Perine,” Gase said. “Obviously it’d be nice if I could say I knew he was coming back. I can’t answer that for sure.”
There was plenty of hope that Gase would actually deploy Bell the proper way this year after botching matters last season. But Bell was largely a non-factor in the first half excluding a 30yard sideline reception on a perfectly thrown pass by Sam Darnold in a two-minute drill just before halftime. Bell managed just 14 yards on six carries, including runs of 3, minus-4, 5, 7, minus-2 and 5. He totaled 46 yards on eight touches before exiting in the third quarter.
“We had a lot of things in [Sunday’s] game-plan for [Bell],” Gase said. “A lot of different things. Just trying to find ways to not put him in a box and really try to expand his role as much as possible. Obviously when we took him out of the game, we lost a pretty good chunk of that.”
Gase regretted after the Jets’ 27-17 loss that he put didn’t pull Bell out sooner after he initially suffered the injury on an incomplete pass just before intermission. Now, the coach said he’ll lean on the player to let him know how he feels before taking the proper course of action. Bringing Bell back too soon could cause a bigger issue if his hamstring is not fully healed.
“Being a guy who’s been around the league for quite a few years,” Gase said, “Some of these guys find ways to play through pain and play through injuries like this. I don’t want to say a longer time and then he’s going, ‘ What are you putting me in a box for?’ So, we talked after the game. He knew how I felt.”
NOTES
Linebacker Blake Cashman, who left on the first drive with a groin injury, could also miss a couple weeks, Gase said. … After watching the film, Gase said that he wouldn’t have done anything differently from a play-calling perspective. “With what they were calling defensively… no,” the coach said. … One year after the Jets were 32nd in average yards to go on 3rd down in 1st half (8.3), Gase’s offense averaged 7.9 yds to go on 3rd down in 1st half against the Bills. … Marcus Maye & Neville Hewitt were the only Jets on the field for all 87 defensive snaps. ( Brian Poole, Bless Austin & Bradley McDougald missed one snap). Cornerback Nate Hairston (51 snaps) took over after Pierre Desir (35), who was signed in free agency to be their top corner, was benched in first half. … Tarell Basham played the most snaps among the edge defenders with 47 of 87 snaps (54%). Jordan Willis (35 snaps) was on the field more often than last year’s sack leader (31 snaps).