Bengals Bell abruptly retires 'on own terms'
The Cincinnati Bengals placed offensive guard Jacob Bell on the reserve/retired list Wednesday. The 31-year-old cited long-term health considerations and said he didn't want to get to jeopardize "true health for money."
Bell played eight NFL seasons -- four with Tennessee and four with St. Louis -- before signing with Cincinnati as an unrestricted free agent April 10.
He started 100 of the 109 games he played in the NFL but missed 10 games over four seasons with the Rams.
"I've been thinking about some different things, thinking about health, thinking about the future of my family having to deal with some kind of crazy disease that nobody even knows about, where people want their brains studied after they're dead. Donating their brains to research," Bell said in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
"It's just crazy to see how someone like Junior Seau took his own life over -- God knows what he was really struggling and dealing with. But you have to believe it came from the game of football. I want to get out before the game makes me get out, where I can get out on my own terms, and I can limit the amount of stress and negative impact that the game would leave on me."
Bell wouldn't estimate how many concussions he's had in his career, in part, because he isn't sure if they're accurately diagnosed when concussion-like symptoms arise.
"If you're telling me 'I'm seeing stars' is some sort of concussion, then you're getting a couple a week," Bell said.
