Le'Veon Bell Reportedly Looked 'Rusty' in 1st Jets Mini Camp Appearance

This is the last thing Jets fans wanted to hear.

Gang Green's top free agent signing of the offseason, Le'Veon Bell, reportedly looked rusty in his first mini camp appearance with the team.

He was given just seven total reps, four in 11-on-11 and three in 7-on-7 practice, and on his lone target the ball bounced off of his hands. The general feel seemed to be that he was out of tune.

That doesn't seem all that surprising considering Bell hasn't played in an NFL game in over a year since he famously engaged in a holdout with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

That's small consolation for the fans who expect him to be the team's premier offensive talent for the foreseeable future, and fans should expect the star running back to return to form as the offseason progresses.

With all this being said, it's still far too early to pass accurate judgement on the running back. Seven reps is an incredibly small sample size, especially for a player of his pedigree. Bell was reportedly itching to get more work in, but the coaching staff held him out in order to monitor his return to game shape.

First impressions are always important, and Bell certainly did NOT knock his out of the park, but there's still plenty of time for him to get back into the swing of things.

He's revealed plans to return to Florida after the mandatory mini camp concludes, and hopefully he'll be hard at work while away from the team.