Amin Babajide "B. J." Bello (born October 31, 1994) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

who is a free agent. He played college football at

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

and

Illinois State Illinois State University (ISU) is a public university in Normal, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University, it is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching and is recognized as one of th ...

Early years

B. J. Bello was born on October 31, 1994, in

New Lenox, Illinois New Lenox is a village in central Will County, Illinois, United States. It is a southwestern suburb of Chicago and an eastern suburb of Joliet. The village population was 27,214 as of 2020. New Lenox has schools like Lincoln-Way West High School ...

. He played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

Lincoln-Way West High School Lincoln-Way West High School or LWW, is a public four-year high school located about 1.5 miles south of Lincoln Highway near the intersection of Gougar Road and Illinois Highway in New Lenox, Illinois, a southwest suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in ...

in New Lenox, Illinois. He recorded 81 tackles, 1 forced fumble and 1 interception his senior year in 2011. He also participated in track and field at Lincoln-Way West, earning All-State honors.

College career

Bello played for the

Illinois Fighting Illini The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's varsity sports. The University operates a number of athletic faci ...

of the

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...

from 2013 to 2015. He was

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

in 2012. He played in four games in 2013 and recorded four tackle assists. He played in nine games in 2014 and totaled three tackle assists. Bello played in eight games in 2015, recording one solo tackle, five tackle assists and one pass breakup. He transferred to play for the

Illinois State Redbirds The Illinois State Redbirds are the athletic teams that represent Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois. Teams play at the NCAA Division I level ( FCS in football). The football team competes in the Missouri Valley Football Conference w ...

Illinois State University Illinois State University (ISU) is a public university in Normal, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University, it is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching and is recognized as one of th ...

in 2016. He played in 12 games, starting 11, in 2016, totaling 72 total tackles, 6 sacks, 4 pass breakups and 2 forced fumbles. Bello was named to the MVFC All-Newcomer Team in 2016.

Professional career

Bello was rated the 45th best outside linebacker in the

2017 NFL Draft The 2017 NFL Draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia ...

by NFLDraftScout.com.

Lance Zierlein Lance Zierlein is a sports analyst and commentator. He has hosted sports talk shows on KILT 610, KBME 790, KGOW 1560 AM, and KFNC 97.5 FM in Houston, Texas Career Zierlein graduated from Lamar Consolidated High School in 1988. Following high ...

of NFL.com predicted that he would go undrafted and be a priority free agent, stating that Bello "needs to be stronger and tougher to hold up as a 4–3 linebacker which is where he'll likely project. Teams could look to bulk him up and see if he could become a situational rusher off the edge, but he'll have to become a quality special teams player to make that a possibility."

Cleveland Browns

Bello signed with the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...

as an undrafted free agent on May 4, 2017. He was waived by the Browns on September 1 and signed to the team's practice squad on September 4. He was promoted to the active roster on September 8, 2017. Bello was waived by the Browns on September 1, 2018.

Arizona Cardinals

On September 3, 2018, Bello was signed to the Arizona Cardinals' practice squad. He was released by the Cardinals on September 18, 2018.

Philadelphia Eagles

On October 16, 2018, Bello was signed to the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on December 14, 2018. On June 5, 2019, the Eagles waived Bello.

Houston Texans

On July 27, 2019, Bello signed with the Houston Texans. He was waived/injured during final roster cuts on August 31, and reverted to the team's injured reserve list the next day. He was waived from injured reserve with an injury settlement on September 4.

Green Bay Packers

On October 1, 2019, Bello was signed to the Green Bay Packers practice squad, but was released three days later.

New York Jets

On October 30, 2019, Bello was signed by the New York Jets, but was released eight days later. He was re-signed on November 12. Bello re-signed with the Jets on April 23, 2020. He was waived on September 1, 2020.

Los Angeles Chargers

On September 30, 2020, Bello was signed to the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...

practice squad. He was elevated to the active roster on November 21, November 28, and December 12 for the team's weeks 11, 12, and 14 games against the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, and Atlanta Falcons, and reverted to the practice squad after each game. He was signed to the active roster on December 17, 2020.

Tennessee Titans

Bello signed with the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their hom ...

on April 23, 2021. He was placed on injured reserve on August 15, 2021.

Philadelphia Stars

Bello signed with the Philadelphia Stars of the USFL on May 9, 2023.

Arlington Renegades

On January 15, 2024, Bello was selected by the

Arlington Renegades The Arlington Renegades are a professional American football team based in Arlington, Texas. The team was founded as the Dallas Renegades by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the new XFL owned by Dwayne ...

in the fourth round of the Super Draft portion of the

2024 UFL dispersal draft The 2024 UFL dispersal draft was the player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams for the 2024 UFL season and disperse the rosters from the eight teams from its component conferences, the XFL and USFL, that were not retained i ...

. He was released on March 10, 2024.

Personal life

Bello is of

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

n descent.

References

External links

College stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bello, Bj 1994 births Living people American football linebackers American sportspeople of Nigerian descent Arizona Cardinals players Cleveland Browns players Green Bay Packers players Houston Texans players Illinois Fighting Illini football players Illinois State Redbirds football players Los Angeles Chargers players New York Jets players Philadelphia Eagles players People from New Lenox, Illinois Philadelphia Stars (2022) players Players of American football from Will County, Illinois Tennessee Titans players 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportspeople Arlington Renegades players