New York Jets running back Le’Veon Bell is headed to a stint on injured reserve with an ailing hamstring, NFL Network’s Kim Jones reported on Tuesday.

Bell, who is eligible to return in three weeks, exited during the third quarter of New York’s 27-17 setback to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.

The 28-year-old Bell injured his hamstring late in the second quarter after falling awkwardly on an incomplete pass in which the running back drew a defensive holding penalty. He played five plays in the second half, then came out for good once the injury’s impact on his ability to play was apparent.

“I’m mad at myself that I let him go back in there in the second half,” Jets coach Adam Gase said. “That play looked bad, because I’m watching him — I thought it was going to be a touchdown — he got grabbed and then just kind of the way he planted and torqued, it looked real bad. I saw him grab his hamstring, and he wouldn’t come out.”

Bell had 14 yards rushing and 32 yards on a pair of receptions in the Week 1 loss.

A two-time first-team All Pro and three-time Pro Bowl selection, Bell sat out the 2018 season in a contract dispute with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He signed a four-year, $52.5 million contract with the Jets when he became a free agent in March 2019.

Bell rushed for 789 yards in 15 games last season, marking his lowest rushing total since 2015. He caught 66 passes for 461 yards.

The Jets (0-1) host defending NFC champion San Francisco (0-1) on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.

–Field Level Media

New York Jets head coach Adam Gase said after his team’s season-opening 27-17 loss to the host Buffalo Bills on Sunday that he was angry at himself for the way he handled injured running back Le’Veon Bell.

Bell injured his hamstring late in the second quarter after falling awkwardly on an incomplete pass in which the running back drew a defensive holding penalty. He played five plays in the second half, then came out for good once the injury’s impact on his ability to play was apparent.

“I’m mad at myself that I let him go back in there in the second half,” Gase said after the game at Orchard Park, N.Y.

No additional information on the injury was released Sunday, and Bell was not made available to the media.

That play looked bad,” Gase said, referring to when his 28-year-old star was injured. “I’m watching, and I thought it was going to be a touchdown, then he got grabbed. And kind of the way he planted and torqued, it looked really bad.

“I saw him grab his hamstring and he wouldn’t come out. We come in at halftime. I let him go back in there. I was worried about it, and we were eventually like, ‘I can’t put you in there. We can’t take a chance on getting more hurt than you already are.’”

Earlier this summer, Bell was pulled from scrimmaging with what the team called hamstring tightness, but the running back tweeted shortly afterward there was nothing wrong with his hamstring.

Gase soon had a sit-down with Bell to clear the air, and nothing else had come of Bell’s hamstring until Sunday.

Now in his second season in New York after spending five in Pittsburgh and sitting out the 2018 season altogether, Bell had 14 yards rushing and 32 yards on a pair of receptions before the injury Sunday.

He had 789 yards rushing, 461 yards receiving and four total touchdowns last season. In his five seasons with the Steelers, Bell ran for 5,336 yards on 1,229 carries and had 2,660 yards on 312 receptions. He scored 42 total touchdowns, made three Pro Bowls, and was twice named first-team All-Pro in Pittsburgh.

The Jets host defending NFC champion San Francisco in Week 2 next Sunday.

–Field Level Media

New York Jets coach Adam Gase pulled Le’Veon Bell out of the team’s first scrimmage on Wednesday, apparently drawing the ire of the running back.

Gase told reporters he removed Bell after limited snaps out of concern over hamstring tightness. In a pair of social media posts, Bell saw things differently.

“ain’t nothing wrong my hamstrings,” Bell wrote on Twitter, followed by: “its tough to stay loose when you do a bunch of standing around……& I’m used to GOINGGG”

Gase said the 28-year-old running back knows just that one speed — fast — and he sometimes need to be slowed down.

“He hasn’t been somebody that really comes out of practice,” Gase said. “Like, I always have to hold him and say, ‘I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to go.’ But he’ll try to go back out there.

“So that’s why we pulled him out. He won’t do it on his own. He’ll keep going out there until somebody else pulls him out.”

A two-time first-team All Pro, Bell sat out the 2018 season in a contract dispute with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He signed a four-year, $52.5 million contract with the Jets when he became a free agent in March 2019.

In 15 games last season, he rushed for 789 yards, his lowest total since 2015, when he ran for 556 yards in just six games.

–Field Level Media