Michael Steven Bell (born April 23, 1983) 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 ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

who played in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) from 2006 to 2011. Bell was signed by the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2006 and later played for the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

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 plays ...

and

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 ( ...

. 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 ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. Bell had several accomplishments throughout his career, including winning

Super Bowl XLIV Super Bowl XLIV was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champions New Orleans Saints and the American Football Conference (AFC) champions Indianapolis Colts to decide the National Football League (NFL) champ ...

over the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

as a member of the Saints.

Early years

Bell went to Desert Horizon before playing for Tolleson Union High School a western suburb of Phoenix, where he both became the second player in Arizona history to have rushed for over 2,000 yards in back to back seasons, as well as obtaining the second-highest career total of 4,692 yards rushing in Arizona. He was named Player of the Year in his senior year by ''

The Arizona Republic ''The Arizona Republic'' is an American daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. Copies are sold at $2 daily or at $3 ...

''.

College career

Bell played

for the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

, where he rushed for 3,163 yards and 17

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether Rush (gridiron football), running, Forward pass, passing, returning a Kickoff (gridiron football), kickoff or Punt (gridiron football), punt, or recovering a Turno ...

in four years, three as the starter. In his senior year, he rushed for 153 yards in sixteen attempts in a surprising 52-14 rout of the then-undefeated

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). ...

. Bell is third all-time in the college's history in rushing yards.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Denver Broncos

Bell entered the

2006 NFL Draft The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with ad ...

, but went

undrafted In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. He was signed as an

on May 8, 2006 by the

. Bell had a very strong

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events, ...

, and before the Broncos first preseason game, Bell was promoted to the starting tailback position. This promotion shocked many, as it was presumed that either

Tatum Bell Tatum Antoine Bell (born March 2, 1981) is a former American football running back. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the second round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Oklahoma State. He is son of Tony and Terry Bell. H ...

Ron Dayne Ronald Dayne (born March 14, 1978) is a former professional American football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons. Dayne played college football for the Wisconsin Badgers football, University of Wisco ...

would win the Broncos' starting job. However Tatum Bell ended up as the starter for the first regular season game, with Mike Bell also getting carries in a backup role. During week 8 of the 2006 season, in which the Broncos played the undefeated

, Tatum Bell was taken out with a

turf toe A metatarsophalangeal joint sprain is an injury to the connective tissue between the foot and a toe (at a metatarsophalangeal joint, one of the joints in the ball of the foot). When the big toe is involved, it is known as "turf toe". Causes Turf ...

. Mike Bell was put in and ran for 135 yards and two touchdowns in just one half, averaging nine yards per carry. He started week 9 against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

, but only gained 28 yards on 17 attempts. He was made inactive by coach

Mike Shanahan Michael Edward Shanahan (born August 24, 1952) is a former American football coach, best known as the head coach of the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL) from 1995 to 2008. During his fourteen seasons with the Broncos, he led ...

in week 10 against the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

. Bell led the Broncos with eight rushing scores. On July 21, 2008, he was released by the Broncos.

Houston Texans

Bell signed with the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

on July 31, 2008. However, he was waived on August 8.

New Orleans Saints

Bell was signed by the

on November 19, 2008 after

Aaron Stecker was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

, and appeared in four games during the season, totaling 13 carries for 42 yards with one touchdown. Most extensive action came at

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, December 21, with four carries for 26 yards and his first touchdown as a Saint, a leaping, one-yard plunge. He also added a 14-yard reception in the contest. During the 2009 season, Bell saw more extensive action with the Saints. He was part of a three-man running back committee with Pierre Thomas and

Reggie Bush Reginald Alfred Bush Jr. (born March 2, 1985) is an American former football running back who now serves as an on-air college football analyst for Fox Sports. He played college football at USC, where he earned consensus All-American honors twi ...

. He led the team in carries with 172 and gained 654 rushing yards, good for 3.8 yards per carry. He scored 5 touchdowns. He had two carries for four yards in

which the Saints won on February 7, 2010.

Philadelphia Eagles

On March 16, 2010, Bell was tendered an offer sheet for a one-year contract worth $1.7 million from the

, and the Saints had the option to match the offer within seven days. The Saints did not match the offer, and Bell became a member of the Philadelphia Eagles on March 23.

Cleveland Browns

Bell was traded to the

in exchange for running back

Jerome Harrison Jerome Harrison (born February 26, 1983) is a former American football running back who played six seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Washington State University, and was recognized as a consensus All- ...

on October 13, 2010.

Detroit Lions

On August 9, 2011, Bell signed with the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

, but was waived on August 29.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Mike 1983 births Living people Players of American football from Phoenix, Arizona African-American players of American football American football fullbacks Arizona Wildcats football players Denver Broncos players Houston Texans players New Orleans Saints players Philadelphia Eagles players Cleveland Browns players Detroit Lions players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people