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Chicago Bears were never going to sign Le’Veon Bell

By Bill Zimmerman

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - FEBRUARY 02: Le'Veon Bell of the Pittsburgh Steelers attends SiriusXM at Super Bowl LII Radio Row at the Mall of America on February 2, 2018 in Bloomington, Minnesota. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - FEBRUARY 02: Le'Veon Bell of the Pittsburgh Steelers attends SiriusXM at Super Bowl LII Radio Row at the Mall of America on February 2, 2018 in Bloomington, Minnesota. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM) /
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It was fun to talk about, but the Chicago Bears were never really going to consider signing Le’Veon Bell.

Le’Veon Bell is a member of the New York Jets.

The Jets chose to pay a running back some pretty major dollars. That decision may work out for them or it may not. Bell has a lot of tread on the tires and you have to wonder if he will start fading sooner rather than later.

Throughout Bell’s free agent process, one team that popped up on more than one occasion was the Chicago Bears. They were rumored to be interested in Bell to varying extents.

You can’t always believe what you hear (or read) because anyone who knows Ryan Pace knows that Le’Veon Bell was never coming to Chicago.

That’s not how Ryan Pace operates.

In 2015, Ryan Pace took over the team and spent a fourth round pick on Jeremy Langford. At the end of the year, rather than re-sign Matt Forte, he let him walk. He followed that up by drafting Jordan Howard in round five.

In 2017, Pace spent a fourth round pick on Tarik Cohen. By now, Jeremy Langford was gone. In 2018, UDFA Ryan Nall made the 53-man roster.

It’s now 2019, Howard looks like he will be shown the door. Cohen is spending more and more time at wide receiver and the Bears signed Mike Davis to a short, 2-year affordable contract.

Most likely, the Bears will spend a third or fourth round pick on a running back in this year’s draft.

What does that running back history tell you? It tells you Ryan Pace will not invest in a running back.

Pace has never paid a running back, nor has he ever invested a high pick in a running back.

Don’t get me wrong, the Bears will probably keep Tarik Cohen around, but that’s because Cohen is more of a gimmick. He’s a weapon. He’s a return man, a wide receiver, a running back, an all-purpose big-play threat.

When it comes to traditional running backs, Pace treats them like tissues. Use them and toss them aside. Investing in running backs in a pass-happy league isn’t a prudent decision.

Once Bell came off the board, Pace could have gone for Mark Ingram or Tevin Coleman, but they weren’t even a consideration. The Chicago Bears under Ryan Pace are not going to pay a traditional running back, maybe ever.

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But with money tied up to Khalil Mack and some of their other big-ticket items, plus extensions coming next year for the likes of Eddie Jackson, there was just no way that Bell was coming to the Bears.

It didn’t matter how much the media tried to push a narrative, that narrative was simply false.

Langford is gone. Howard will be gone soon. One day (maybe soon), Nall will be gone. Taquan Mizzell will be gone. Benny Cunningham will be gone. The running back Pace selects in this draft will one day be gone. This is how the Chicago Bears operate. Accept this as fact.

As long as Ryan Pace is general manager of the Chicago Bears, they won’t be investing in the running back position. So whoever the Bears select in this year’s draft, you might want to save your money and avoid buying that jersey right away. It just wouldn’t be a prudent investment.

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