After weeks of anticipation, Le’Veon Bell won’t be joining the Raiders after all. It looked like Jon Gruden might be able to lure Bell to the west coast, but in the end Bell went with his best offer. Considering all that Bell put himself through over the last past to secure a long-term deal, no one should be surprised.
At one point, though, the Raiders apparently thought they may be getting the All Pro running back.
“The Raiders did make an offer to Bell and there was some real buzz in the building around noon on Tuesday,” The Athletic’s Vic Tafur reported on Wednesday morning. “The Jets had given Bell a deadline and there was a sense that if money wasn’t the most important thing Bell would rather play for the Raiders than the Jets… [The Raiders] offer was close but not close enough. Which, really, is a good thing. Gruden and new general manager Mike Mayock didn’t get emotional when they realized they had a real shot. They didn’t raise their offer, since they have plenty of other needs.”
If nothing else, Jon Gruden and his merry men have proved over the last week that they aren’t interested in waiting another year to win. And today, the money Bell almost got from the Raiders seems like it is being pushed at former Chargers wide receiver Tyrell Williams. There are still significant holes on defensive side, but with the Raiders owning four of the top 35 picks in the draft, there is no need for defensive coordinator Paul Guenther to panic yet.
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