Bell: I thought about retiring before joining Bucs

Le’Veon Bell was close to walking away from football before signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“I got to the point where I had thought about kinda calling it quits,” Bell said. “It kinda wasn’t working out for me the last couple spots I’ve been at. This is literally the only spot that would make me want to play football and go out there and be excited to play.”

“I was going to start boxing and focusing on boxing,” Bell added. “I think this was a great opportunity, something you can’t really turn down, playing with coach (Bruce) Arians, Tom Brady, and obviously (Antonio Brown).”

Bell, who was once one of the league’s most productive rushers, joins his fourth team in two seasons. He split the 2020 campaign between the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs before making five appearances with the Baltimore Ravens earlier this season.

The 29-year-old recorded 5,336 rushing yards and 7,996 yards from scrimmage from 2013-17 with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He’s appeared in just 31 games since then and has averaged just 3.4 yards per carry.

The Buccaneers will look to use Bell and Ronald Jones to aid the team’s rushing attack in Leonard Fournette’s absence. Fournette is expected to miss time after suffering a hamstring injury Sunday against the New Orleans Saints.

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