The Facts: Following up on the ongoing story. ... Bell hasn't participated in any of the first five OTAs due to an injured knee, and isn't optimistic about his chances of appearing in next week's final round of OTAs, either. Bell told MLive it's unclear whether he'll be available for mandatory minicamp, which runs June 10-12, but he's confident the knee won't imperil his availability for the start of training camp in late July. "Yeah, I do," Bell said confidently when asked if he'd be ready for camp.
Diehards Line:
Bell wouldn't say whether he had surgery on the knee, but did acknowledge the ailment is linked to the tendinitis that bothered him throughout last season. "My timetable is this, man: I'm working as hard as I can to get back as soon as I can," he said. "As soon as I feel I'm at a position where I can go out there and not hurt myself, that's when I'll be back out there." Bell can't carry the ball, but he's remaining as active as possible. That includes working in a few passes during the Lions' "spray drill," which features all four quarterbacks throwing to four receivers simultaneously. Though Bell hasn't been able to participate in an OTA, nor in last month's minicamp, he's attended every session so that he doesn't fall behind with the new offense. For now, fantasy football owners should expect him to be ready as advertised. But it's worth watching going forward.