The Lions have released Joique Bell, and the spin I’m seeing everywhere is that Bell will soon be 30 and seems to have lost a step. I’m not sure I agree with that assessment. I think it is probably more of a cap-driven move.
Bell maybe isn’t quite the back he was two years ago, but I believe he can still play. He can run with power, and he’s got very good pass-catching ability. He’s got a couple of seasons with over 50 catches on his resume. He had some injuries last year that kept him out of three games, and they also rotated their backs more. But there were times that he very much looked like the same old Joique Bell to me. I saw him explode for a 36-yard run right down to the goal-line against New Orleans, if memory serves correct, and I remember him helping to ice a couple of games late with power runs for first downs to keep drives alive. One against Oakland, I believe.
The move is more about creating $2.5 million in cap space, I think. The Lions don’t think he’s worth quite that much, and they’ve got Zach Zenner coming back for a second year, and he could pick up some of that No. 2 back role.
The larger issue with Bell, I think, was the team’s offensive line, which was simply horrible at times last year. It remains a huge concern, and they were just going with a bunch of young nobodies at times in 2015.
At NFL.com, they have an offensive line grading area, and in there they list the number of combined starts for each team’s usual offensive line. The Lions graded out as the 5th-youngest by any team in the last five years.
That was kind of an overall trend around the league last year. Each of the four teams that were even less experienced than the Lions also came from last year.
| OL with under 200 starts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | Starts |
| 2015 | St. Louis | 106 |
| 2015 | Kansas City | 124 |
| 2015 | New England | 129 |
| 2015 | Washington | 142 |
| 2015 | Detroit | 149 |
| 2014 | Jacksonville | 151 |
| 2011 | Buffalo | 154 |
| 2013 | Pittsburgh | 156 |
| 2014 | San Diego | 160 |
| 2012 | Seattle | 163 |
| 2011 | Seattle | 174 |
| 2015 | Chicago | 176 |
| 2015 | NY Giants | 178 |
| 2015 | Seattle | 183 |
| 2013 | Seattle | 183 |
| 2013 | Kansas City | 183 |
| 2013 | Green Bay | 189 |
| 2015 | Indianapolis | 192 |
| 2014 | Carolina | 193 |
| 2012 | St. Louis | 193 |
| 2014 | Kansas City | 195 |
| 2013 | Dallas | 197 |
However you slice it, put me down as a believer that Bell still has something left in the tank. He’ll sign somewhere, and I believe he’ll open the 2016 season as some team’s No. 2 tailback. Could have some decent starts in him at some point.
—Ian Allan
