Bears' Bell ready to rumble against ex-Lions teammates
Allen Park – A familiar face could be lining up in the Chicago Bears backfield in Sunday's NFC North matchup.
With a depleted running back unit following a high ankle sprain to starter Jeremy Langford (Michigan State) and banged up backup Ka’Deem Carey, Chicago signed former Lion Joique Bell on Tuesday.
Bell (Wayne State) will likely face his old team and ex-teammates in a reserve role behind rookie Jordan Howard, who rushed for 45 yards on nine carries and caught four passes for 47 yards after taking over for Langford last week.
Lions safety Glover Quin said it’d be “fantastic” to go up against Bell in a game after years of battling on the practice field.
“Joique’s a good guy,” Quin said. “Obviously we know who he is, familiar for us. His running style is familiar. How much he can pick up on in a couple days, who knows?
“If he gets in the game, we got to treat him just like he’s a Chicago Bear. He’s not a friend during the game. He’s a Chicago Bear and we’re trying to take him out.”
Bell was the Lions’ second-leading rusher last year with 311 yards and four touchdowns on 90 carries. He also had 22 receptions for 286 yards. In four seasons in Detroit, Bell rushed for 2,235 yards and 22 touchdowns on 561 carries and caught 161 passes for 1,640 yards and a score.
Bears quarterback Brian Hoyer said he met Bell for the first time on Wednesday and he made a strong first impression in practice.
"You can tell he's a veteran guy who has played some football," Hoyer said. "We were talking and he was coming to me asking for help. When you see guy come in like that and wanting to chomp at the bit, that's always a good sign."
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