Steve McLendon and Le’Veon Bell were teammates in Pittsburgh for three seasons.
The New York Jets defensive tackle informed reporters on Wednesday that he recently spoke to Bell and tried feverishly to convince him to attend Organized Team Activities.
There was no changing Bell’s mind.
“I talked to him and I told him, ‘You understand this place is different than Pittsburgh,'” McLendon said. “I said, ‘You need to get back so you can understand the quarterback and the situation.’
“‘The media is gonna get you if you don’t come back,'” he said he told Bell. “That’s the truth. I did tell him that.”
Bell has been catching a bunch of criticism for not attending OTA’s to learn the new playbook and get familiar with his new quarterback after he signed a four-year, $52.5 million contract with $27 million guaranteed. Instead, Bell has opted to train in Florida as he always has, even back during his time with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“You just want to get to know your teammates, especially when we have a young quarterback,” McLendon said. “He needs to know your rhythm, he needs to know how patient you are. It’s easy to see on the film but it’s so hard to prepare with because (Bell) is very dynamic in the things that he can do. Out of the backfield, in the backfield, lining up at wide receiver, he can do a lot of special things, and for me it’s very amazing to have him on our team.”
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral NFL stories via Google! Follow Us
Even though McLendon begged him to show up to OTA’s, he still defended his teammate’s decision to not do so.
“Listen, man, he’s not an All-Pro, Pro Bowl running back for no reason. Sometimes people prepare differently,” McLendon said. “Would we love him here? Yes. But when he comes here and he’s rocking and rolling and helping us get to where we want to go this season, ain’t nobody going to be thinking about it. And I know I’m not.”
“He’s going to be in extremely good shape,” McLendon said. “He’s going to be in some good shape. He always has been and I don’t see that changing.”
