A potential positive from Le’Veon Bell’s release may be more opportunities for La’Mical Perine to see the field.
Earlier this week, Adam Gase suggested that Perine was not receiving more carries because he didn’t want to “stunt” the rookie’s growth. That was before Bell was granted his release on Tuesday night.
After Bell returned to the lineup in Week 5, Perine played zero snaps in New York’s 30-10 loss to the Cardinals. Perine was relegated to kickoff duty.
When Bell missed three games with a hamstring injury, Perine received just 40 snaps. Inexplicably, both Frank Gore and Kalen Ballage saw time in the backfield over the fourth-round pick from Florida. In his four games, Perine has 17 touches for 55 total yards.
There’s no longer any excuse for the Jets not to play Perine. The team is 0-5 and, with Bell’s release, they don’t appear interested in being competitive. At the very least, they should be using the next 11 games as an evaluation period, which should provide a measuring stick for someone like Perine.
At 37-years-old, the Jets know what they have in Gore. It appears that Father Time has caught up to the ageless wonder and he should be no more than a short-yardage back and a guide to Perine going forward.
On the season, Gore has 64 carries for 204 yards, averaging 3.2 yards per carrry. Even if Gase’s odd explanation for not using Perine holds any merit, the Jets gain nothing by playing Gore over the rookie, who has already followed Bell’s lead, liking a tweet that criticized his head coach’s explanation of his minimal use.
In all likelihood, Perine will probably be part of a running back by committee that includes Gore, Ty Johnson and Josh Adams. Even with that, he should reserve the right to be New York’s feature back for the remainder of the season.
The Jets released Bell because they knew he wouldn’t be here beyond this season. New York was likely to release him following the 2020 season regardless of his production. That same logic can be applied to Gase, who has all but written his fate. With that, a likely lame-duck head coach needs to feature Perine going forward, especially considering he could be New York’s running back of the future.