Joique Bell, who used to be the running back for the Detroit Lions, has officially joined the Chicago Bears as a replacement for Jeremy Langford, who is currently nursing an injury. Bell's first game with the Bears on Sunday will be against his former team.
Bell announced his contract signing with the Bears earlier this week through a picture he shared on his Instagram account. It was then officially confirmed by the Chicago franchise on Tuesday.
The 30-year-old running back is already a veteran player. His first stint in the NFL was with the Buffalo Bills in 2010. He bounced around from various teams after that before landing in Detroit in 2011.
Bell spent five years with the Lions. The last contract he signed with the team was in 2014, which was a two-year extension worth $7 million. In February of this year, he was released by the Lions but was invited back to workout with the team last week due to the injury suffered by Ameer Abdullah, who has been placed on injured reserve. The Detroit franchise, however, decided not to sign the free agent.
But then, almost a week later, the Bears brought in Bell. Based on the team's current status, he will serve as a possible replacement to Langford, who injured his ankle on Sunday during a game against the Dallas Cowboys.
It is not yet clear how long Langford will be out but he is expected to miss up to six weeks because of his injury. Aside from Langford, the Bears also faced another casualty in the form of Ka'Deem Carey. He wasn't able to join the team at Week 3 due to a hamstring injury. The Bears have not yet confirmed if Carey will be back for Week 4.
Given the number of injured running backs on the Bears' roster, it seems Bell will most likely get a lot of playing time this season. Hopefully though, his presence in the lineup will be able to boost the Bears' offense since the team is currently looking at a three-game losing streak ever since the regular season started.
