How Bell became the most surprising free agent addition

Charlie Goldsmith

In the middle of March 2020, Cincinnati Bengals safeties coach Robert Livingston woke up early to go to his basement and watch film for “the love of the game.”

The front office had given him film of 25 safeties to break down before the start of free agency. But Livingston wasn’t expecting the Bengals would sign any of them. Neither did head coach Zac Taylor since the Bengals already had Jessie Bates III and Shawn Williams as the starters at that position.

Still, Livingston took a deeper dive into Vonn Bell’s game. Bell was a part of a New Orleans Saints’ defense that was one of the best in the NFL on third downs. Livingston took note of Bell’s role in it, and Livingston thought about applying different aspects of the Saints’ third down defense into the Bengals’ scheme.

Then Livingston’s phone rang with surprising news. The Bengals were thinking about signing Bell.

“We were watching him just to watch because we were in a good spot with two starters coming back,” Livingston said. “It was not something that was on the front of my brain. But once the phone call came, it was a no-brainer.”

On Sunday, Bell returns to face a New Orleans Saints team that gave up on him. The Saints drafted him in the second round in 2016 and saw him develop into a starter and a Swiss Army knife on a defense that played in the NFC Championship Game.

Bell had good reason to think the Saints would want to keep him for the prime of his career. Instead, they gave a 32-year-old safety, Malcolm Jenkins, a four-year, $32 million contract.

“They moved on from me,” Bell said. “There’s a lot more detail I can’t talk about. … You never forget that.”

Jenkins signed with the Saints about a week after the start of free agency. Most of the teams who needed a starting safety had already filled that role, and some defensive coaches weren’t interested in Bell because of the perceived flaws they saw in his game. They knew that Bell was a hard hitter and a consistent tackler, but coaches questioned his ability to make plays in coverage down the field.