Bilal Powell will return to the Jets. The team announced the veteran running back reached an agreement to re-sign. Powell worked out for the Jets on Friday. It’s a one-year deal, per Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News (on Twitter), and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that Powell will receive a $90K signing bonus. That’s not a huge guarantee, but it is sizable for this time of year, and it likely speaks to the Jets’ belief in Powell’s health.
Cleared from a scary neck injury that was believed at one point to be a career-threatening malady, per Rapoport (on Twitter), Powell is now signed on to play a ninth season in New York. The backfield has obviously changed since Powell’s last time in a Jets uniform, with Le’Veon Bell now almost certainly set for a three-down role, and Powell’s addition crowds the group.
Elijah McGuire, Trenton Cannon and Ty Montgomery join Bell on New York’s depth chart. Adam Gase said this week he wanted increased competition at certain spots, and despite this looking like a fairly well-stocked backfield, the 30-year-old Powell stands to provide some. He holds a career 4.4-yard average per carry and combined for more than 2,100 yards from scrimmage between 2016-17.
A fourth-round pick during the Rex Ryan years, Powell recently wrapped up a three-year, $11.25MM deal. He will team with another Pro Bowl back, having already worked with LaDainian Tomlinson and Matt Forte. While Powell does not figure to be a lock to make the Jets’ roster, he provides far more experience than any of Gang Green’s other backup candidates.
He won’t have much of a role but it’s good to see him healthy and back