Kenny Bell
No. 80
Position:Wide receiver
Personal information
Born: (1992-02-25) February 25, 1992
Boulder, Colorado, U.S.
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:188 lb (85 kg)
Career information
High school:Boulder (CO) Fairview
College:Nebraska
NFL Draft:2015 / Round: 5 / Pick: 162
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Player stats at NFL.com

Kenny Bell (born February 25, 1992) is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football at Nebraska and was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL Draft.

Early years

Bell attended Fairview High School in Boulder, Colorado, where he was a three-sport star in football, track and basketball. In football, Bell helped Fairview High to a 12–1 record and a state semi-final appearance in 2009. As a junior, Bell earned first-team All-Front Range League honors, playing wingback and rushing for 958 yards and 12 touchdowns. As a senior, Bell caught 18 passes for 328 yards and three touchdowns, and added an interception and kickoff return for a touchdown. He missed much of the season with an injury, but scored five touchdowns in his first five games back in action. Despite his limited action, Bell's impact was recognized, as he was a first-team All-Colorado selection and first-team Class 5A All-state pick by The Denver Post. In basketball, Bell helped his team to the state title game as a senior.

Also a standout track & field athlete, Bell was one of the state's top performers in both the sprinting and jumping events. In the long jump, he posted a personal-best leap of 7.62 meters (24–9),[1] while in the high jump he had a best of 2.02 meters (6–7.25).[2] He also ran the 100-meter dash in 10.8 seconds.[3]

Bell was ranked among the top 10 players in Colorado, and was rated as a three-star recruit by Rivals.com. Bell committed to play college football at Nebraska after also visiting Minnesota and Texas Tech.[4] He also had offers from several other schools, including Colorado, Cal, Arizona and Arizona State.[5]

College career

Bell attended Nebraska from 2010 to 2014. As a freshman, he was redshirted. As a redshirt freshman in 2011, he played in all 13 games making 11 starts. He led the team with 32 receptions for 461 yards and three touchdowns.[6] He became the second freshman in school history to lead the team in these categories.[7] As a sophomore in 2012, Bell started all 14 games and again led the team with 50 receptions for 863 yards and eight touchdowns. As a junior, he played in all 13 games and for the third straight year led the team with 52 receptions for 577 yards and four touchdowns.

Bell set numerous Nebraska records his senior season in 2014.[8] Against Rutgers he broke the career receptions record which had been held by Nate Swift.[9][10] A few weeks later against Wisconsin he broke Johnny Rodgers career receiving yards record. He played in all 13 games that year and for the fourth straight season he led the team in receiving, becoming the first player in school history to do so all four years. Bell earned first-team All-Big Ten Conference honors after recording 47 receptions for 788 yards with six touchdowns. Bell started 49-of-53 games played at the University of Nebraska, finishing his career ranked first in school history in receptions (181) and receiving yards (2,689) as well as third in receiving touchdowns (21). He made the most starts on offense (49) in school history and posted 51 kickoff returns for 1,277 yards (25.0 avg.) with one touchdown during his career.[11]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand span40-yard dash10-yard split20-yard split20-yard shuttleThree-cone drillVertical jumpBroad jumpBench press
6 ft 1+1⁄8 in
(1.86 m)		 197 lb
(89 kg)		 31+5⁄8 in
(0.80 m)		 9+1⁄4 in
(0.23 m)		4.38 s1.47 s2.54 s4.15 s6.66 s41.5 in
(1.05 m)		10 ft 9 in
(3.28 m)		7 reps
All values from NFL Combine except 40 yd dash from Nebraska Pro Day[12][13]

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Bell in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL Draft at pick 162, using the pick they acquired from the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for Jeremy Zuttah.[14] He spent the 2015 season on the Buccaneers' injured reserve list following a preseason hamstring injury; he did not have any catches in the first two preseason games.[15]

On September 3, 2016, he was released by the Buccaneers as part of final roster cuts.[16]

Baltimore Ravens

On October 5, 2016, Bell was signed to the Baltimore Ravens' practice squad.[17] He signed a reserve/future contract with the Ravens on January 2, 2017.[18]

On August 18, 2017, Bell was waived/injured by the Ravens and placed on injured reserve.[19] He was released on August 20, 2017. He was re-signed to the Ravens' practice squad on October 24, 2017.[20]

Denver Broncos

On January 17, 2018, Bell signed a reserve/future contract with the Denver Broncos.[21] He was waived/injured on August 3, 2018 and was placed on injured reserve.[22] He was released four days later.

Salt Lake Stallions

In October 2018, Bell joined the Salt Lake Stallions of the Alliance of American Football.[23] The league ceased operations in April 2019.[24]

Coaching career

On March 1, 2023, the Arizona Cardinals announced Bell as their director of football strategy.[25]

Personal life

His father, Ken Bell, played for the Broncos from 1986 to 1989, totaling more than 2,000 career yards in kickoff returns.[26]

He is canonically included in the Better Call Saul series Season 6 Episode 10.

References

  1. ↑ "Broomfield Shootout 2010 – Track & Field Meet". Athletic.net.
  2. ↑ "Front Range Conference Meet 2010 – Track & Field Meet". Athletic.net.
  3. ↑ "Thornton HS Last Chance Meet". Colorado Track XC.
  4. ↑ "Fairview's Kenny Bell commits to play football at Nebraska". dailycamera.com. 5 January 2010.
  5. ↑ "Kenny Bell". yahoo.com.
  6. ↑ "Football: Fairview grad Kenny Bell primed to back up breakout season". bocopreps.com. 30 July 2012.
  7. ↑ "Freshman Bell comes on strong for Huskers". The Grand Island Independent.
  8. ↑ "Nebraska Cornhusker Kenny Bell's career full of fun and heartbreak – Big Ten Blog – ESPN". ESPN.com. 24 November 2014.
  9. ↑ "Kenny Bell's No. 1, but it's beside his point". Omaha.com. 25 October 2014.
  10. ↑ Brian Christopherson – Lincoln Journal Star. "Bell grabs record, tries to soak up every moment of senior season". JournalStar.com.
  11. ↑ http://files.denverbroncos.com/resources/custom/Images/email_blast/2018_Denver_Broncos_Media_Guide_a.pdf Archived 2019-12-16 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ↑ "Kenny Bell Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  13. ↑ "Kenny Bell, Nebraska, WR, 2015 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  14. ↑ "2015 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2023-05-15.
  15. ↑ "Report: Bucs put WR Kenny Bell on injured reserve". 4 September 2015.
  16. ↑ Smith, Scott (September 3, 2016). "Bucs Trim Roster to 53". Buccaneers.com. Archived from the original on August 7, 2017.
  17. ↑ Mink, Ryan (October 5, 2016). "Ravens Promote TE Daniel Brown To 53-Man Roster". BaltimoreRavens.com.
  18. ↑ Downing, Garrett (January 2, 2017). "Ravens Sign Six Players to Reserve/Future Contracts". BaltimoreRavens.com. Archived from the original on November 12, 2017.
  19. ↑ Mink, Ryan (August 18, 2017). "Ravens Bring Back Center Jeremy Zuttah To Bolster Thin Interior Offensive Line". BaltimoreRavens.com. Archived from the original on August 19, 2017. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
  20. ↑ Mink, Ryan (October 24, 2017). "Ravens Bring Back Wide Receiver to Practice Squad". BaltimoreRavens.com. Archived from the original on October 24, 2017.
  21. ↑ "Broncos sign three players to future contracts". DenverBroncos.com. January 17, 2018.
  22. ↑ DiLalla, Aric (August 3, 2018). "Broncos sign WR Bryce Bobo, waive/injured WR Kenny Bell". DenverBroncos.com.
  23. ↑ "AAF Player Profile: Kenny Bell – Salt Lake Stallions, WR". Big Rod, Bear, and The Basement Boys Show. October 23, 2018. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  24. ↑ Rothstein, Michael; Wickersham, Seth (June 13, 2019). "Inside the short, unhappy life of the Alliance of American Football". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  25. ↑ "Arizona Cardinals fill out coaching staff with 15 new hires and 7 retentions". arizonasports.com. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  26. ↑ "Kenny Bell Follows His Father's Footsteps". proplayerinsiders.com. 20 February 2015.
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