Jacob Bell (born March 2, 1981) is a former

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 with ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

. He was drafted by 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 h ...

in the fifth round of the

2004 NFL Draft The 2004 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 24–25, 2004 at the Theater at ...

. Bell also played for the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arri ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the 10 ...

Early years

Bell was born on the west side of Cleveland, Ohio before moving to Cleveland Heights in his youth. He displayed an interest in sports from early on, of which football was one of his favorites. He attended Saint Ignatius High School (Cleveland, Ohio) before winning a scholarship at Miami University in Ohio.

College career

He played in 39 games with 38 starts at

, gaining starting experience at

left tackle Tackle is a playing position in gridiron football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, o ...

(13 games),

right tackle Tackle is a playing position in gridiron football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, o ...

(two) and right guard (23). As senior, started all 14 games at right guard and earned first-team All-MAC honors en route to conference championship. Helped Redhawks set school and conference records for most points (553) and most total yards (7,016). Also helped team set school record for rushing touchdowns in season (34). As junior, started first two contests at left tackle before shifting to right guard, where he started nine of next 10 games. Started every game as redshirt freshman at left tackle and gained two starts there as sophomore. He graduated with degree in sport organization and was a member of the

Phi Delta Theta Phi Delta Theta (), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social fraternity founded at Miami University in 1848 and headquartered in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, along with Beta Theta Pi and Sigma Chi form the Miami Triad ...

fraternity.

Professional career

Pre-draft

In his 2004 pre-draft workouts, Bell was timed in 4.98 seconds in the 40-yard dash, performed 30 bench press repetitions of 225 pounds and posted a 32-inch vertical leap.

Tennessee Titans

He signed a three-year $1.1 million contract with the Titans as a rookie in 2004. As a rookie in 2004, Bell played in 15 games with 14 starts at left guard before tearing his right anterior cruciate ligament against Denver (12/25). En route to being named to All-Rookie teams of ESPN.com, Football Digest and Pro Football Weekly, helped Chris Brown rush for 1,067 yards and protected

Steve McNair Stephen LaTreal McNair (February 14, 1973 – July 4, 2009),Steve McNair Found Dead
...

and Billy Volek as they combined for 3,829 passing yards. In 2005 Bell played in nine games with one start at right tackle at Pittsburgh (9/11/2005). He also saw action at right guard, left tackle and on special teams. In 2006, started 13 games at left guard and two games at right tackle as he helped pave way for fifth ranked rushing attack in NFL and five 200-yard rushing games which ranked second in the NFL. Bell helped

Travis Henry Travis Deion Henry (born October 29, 1978) is a former American football running back who played seven seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Tennessee. He was drafted by the Bills in t ...

amass 1,211 rushing yards and opened rushing lanes for Offensive Rookie of the Year

Vince Young Vincent Paul Young Jr. (born May 18, 1983) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for six seasons. Young was drafted by the Tennessee Titans as the third overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft, and ...

as he gained 552 rushing yards, becoming the first rookie quarterback in the Super Bowl era to reach 500 rushing yards. In 2007, Bell signed a one-year $1.85 million tender offer as a

restricted free agent A restricted free agent (RFA) is a type of free agent in the National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), or National Basketball Association (NBA). Such players have special restrictions on the terms under which they can retain ...

. In 2007 Bell played in a career-high 16 games with 16 starts...also started in Titans’ playoff contest. He opened holes for rushing attack that ranked fifth in the NFL gaining 2,109 yards (131.8 yards per game) behind RB LenDale White's career-high 1,110 yards.

St. Louis Rams

On March 3, 2008, he signed a six-year $36 million deal with the

. The deal contained $13 million guaranteed, including a $7 million signing bonus. In 2008, Bell played in 13 games (all starts).

Cincinnati Bengals

Bell signed with the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

on April 6, 2012.

Retirement

On May 8, 2012, Bell announced his retirement. The following day Bell said about his abrupt decision to retire only one month after joining the Bengals,

"I've been thinking about some different things, thinking about health, thinking about the future of my family having to deal with some kind of crazy disease that nobody even knows about, where people want their brains studied after they're dead, donating their brains to research. It's just crazy to see how someone like
Junior Seau Tiaina Baul "Junior" Seau Jr. (; ; January 19, 1969May 2, 2012) was an American professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL), mostly with the San Diego Chargers. Known for his passionate play, he was a ...
took his own life over -- God knows what he was really struggling and dealing with. But you have to believe it came from the game of football. I want to get out before the game makes me get out, where I can get out on my own terms, and I can limit the amount of stress and negative impact that the game would leave on me. I played under a guy, Mike Munchak in Tennessee, and I used to watch him as he was running around the practice field for a half hour before practice, and I'd see the way he'd run," Bell said. "He played 13 seasons, he played all 13 seasons with no cartilage in his knees. And I thought to myself, I don't want to look like that. I don't want to be at the point where I'm jeopardizing my true health for money pretty much. For money and for celebrity."

References

External links

St. Louis Rams Player Bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Jacob 1981 births Living people Players of American football from Cleveland American football offensive tackles American football offensive guards Miami RedHawks football players Saint Ignatius High School (Cleveland) alumni Tennessee Titans players St. Louis Rams players Cincinnati Bengals players