Lions' Bell says he's close to returning

Joique Bell bounced around the NFL his first few years, making pit stops in Buffalo, Philadelphia, Indianapolis and New Orleans before finding a home in Detroit.

When Bell, who grew up in Benton Harbor and played collegiately at Wayne State, signed his first contract with the Lions in the winter of 2011, he said he planned to stay long enough to retire in his adoptive city.

"That's still my plan," Bell said Saturday, albeit one he doesn't think he'll be needing anytime soon.

Bell has spent all of training camp on the physically unable to perform list after off-season surgery to fix a knee problem that's nagged him for years, but the running back said Saturday he's close to returning – he should come off PUP this week – and still has plenty of football left in his 29-year-old body.

"I'm a young buck," Bell said. "If you want to be honest, this is my first year really (where I am) going to be carrying the load, so you can kind of consider me a rookie."

Bell, who played through his knee problems but missed one game with a brain injury last year, led the Lions with 860 yards rushing and seven touchdowns in 2014, when he shouldered the bulk of the workload in the Lions' backfield with Reggie Bush slowed by ankle injuries.

Bush is gone now, and the Lions drafted Ameer Abdullah as his replacement, but Bell is the only proven commodity among Lions running backs having amassed more than 1,500 yards and 15 touchdowns the last two seasons.

Lions coach Jim Caldwell hinted that Bell will be ready for the team's regular-season opener Sept. 13 against the San Diego Chargers when asked about the running back's rehab on Saturday.

"We have a good sense of that and it's just a matter of him coming along the rest of the way," Caldwell said. "But, being honest with you, both (Bell and injured defensive tackle Haloti Ngata) look really good and both guys are in good shape right now."

Bell said doctors told him in June that if he was running by the end of July he'd be in good shape to play Week 1. He hit that milestone, and has ramped up his return-to-play workouts in recent weeks.

"I feel the exact same way that Coach Caldwell feels, I'm getting close," he said.

So what should the expectations be for Bell once he gets back on the field?

"I'm not going to say I'm ready to go out there and take every play and run every down right now," he said. "But you never know how I feel in two weeks."

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

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