David Bell (American football)

David Bell
Bell with the Cleveland Browns in 2023
No. 18
PositionWide receiver
Personal information
Born (2000-12-14) December 14, 2000
Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight212 lb (96 kg)
Career information
High schoolWarren Central
(Indianapolis, Indiana)
CollegePurdue (2019–2021)
NFL draft2022: 3rd round, 99th overall pick
Career history
Awards and highlights
Career NFL statistics as of 2024
Receptions41
Receiving yards408
Receiving touchdowns3
Stats at Pro Football Reference

David Kyreem Bell (born December 14, 2000) is an American former professional football wide receiver who played his entire four-year National Football League (NFL) career for the Cleveland Browns. He played college football for the Purdue Boilermakers and was selected by the Browns in the third round of the 2022 NFL draft.

Early life

Bell grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana and attended Warren Central High School.[1][2] As a junior, Bell recorded 52 catches for 1,075 yards and 11 touchdowns.[3][4] He was also a member of Warren Central's undefeated Class 4A State Championship Basketball team.[5] As a senior, Bell caught 85 passes for 1,542 yards and 22 touchdowns and was named the Marion County Athlete of the Year and Male Athlete of the Year by The Indianapolis Star as well as the Indiana Gatorade Player of the Year as the Warriors went on to win the 6A State Title.[6][7] Rated the best recruit in Indiana by several outlets, Bell committed to play college football at Purdue over offers from Penn State and Ohio State during the All-American Bowl.[8]

College career

Bell became a starter at wide receiver as a true freshman. Bell was named the Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Week four times, including after catching nine passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns on October 12, 2019, against Maryland.[9] He finished the season with 86 receptions for 1,035 yards and seven touchdowns and was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year.[10]

Bell was named the Big Ten co-Offensive Player of the Week for the first week of his sophomore season after catching 13 passes for 121 yards and three touchdowns in a 24–20 win over Iowa.[11] He was named first-team All-Big Ten after catching 53 passes for 625 yards and eight touchdowns over six games in the team's COVID-19-shortened 2020 season.[12] As a junior, Bell repeated as a first-team All-Big Ten selection and the Richter–Howard Receiver of the Year.[13] He was named as a Consensus All-American for 2021.[14]

College statistics

Season Games Receiving Rushing
GP GS Rec Yards Avg TD Att Yards Avg TD
Purdue Boilermakers
2019 12 9 86 1,035 12.0 7 3 12 4.0 1
2020 6 6 53 625 11.8 8 0 0 0.0 0
2021 11 11 93 1,286 13.8 6 3 39 13.0 0
Career 29 26 232 2,946 12.7 21 6 51 8.5 1

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span Wingspan 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump
6 ft 0+7⁄8 in
(1.85 m)		 212 lb
(96 kg)		 31+7⁄8 in
(0.81 m)		 9+1⁄4 in
(0.23 m)		 6 ft 4+5⁄8 in
(1.95 m)		 4.65 s 1.56 s 2.66 s 4.57 s 7.14 s 33.0 in
(0.84 m)		 9 ft 10 in
(3.00 m)
All values from NFL Combine[15][16][17]

Cleveland Browns

Bell was selected by the Cleveland Browns with the 99th overall pick in the third round of the 2022 NFL draft.[18]

2022

He finished his rookie season with 24 receptions for 214 receiving yards in 16 games and three starts.[19]

2023

On December 10, 2023, Bell caught the first touchdown of his career on a 41–yard reception from Joe Flacco against the Jacksonville Jaguars.[20] He finished the 2023 season with 14 receptions for 167 yards and three touchdowns, two of which came in Week 18 against the Cincinnati Bengals.[21]

2024

On September 5, 2024, Bell was waived by the Browns after initially making the 53 man roster, and re-signed to the practice squad.[22][23] He was promoted to the active roster on September 11, but suffered a hip injury in Week 2 and placed on season-ending injured reserve.[24]

2025

Bell opened the season on the Browns' non-football injury list. On October 14, 2025, Bell announced his retirement from professional football, citing an off-field injury so severe that suiting up again would "literally risk life and limb."[25][26] According to his lawyer, Brad Sohn, Bell was on the non-football injury list due to a botched surgery unrelated to his hip injury. Sohn told The Plain Dealer that a complication from the surgery would have made it "life-threatening" for Bell to try to play again, forcing him to retire.[27]

References

  1. ^ White, Jack (January 2, 2019). "Warren Central's David Bell knows his college choice". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  2. ^ Dochterman, Scott (November 1, 2018). "Now a recruiting player in Indianapolis, Iowa hopes four-star WR David Bell is the next Indy prospect to head its way". The Athletic. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  3. ^ Jackson, Stu (March 12, 2018). "2019 4-Star WR David Bell Enjoying Success On Basketball Court Too". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  4. ^ Donohue, Tyler (December 13, 2017). "Penn State recruiting: Nittany Lions extend new offers; commits rise in rankings". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  5. ^ Tannebaum, Taylor (February 28, 2019). "Warren Central's David Bell is February's Student Athlete of the Month". WTHR. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  6. ^ Neddenriep, Kyle (December 6, 2018). "Warren Central's David Bell named Indiana's top football player". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  7. ^ Doyel, Gregg (November 24, 2018). "From urgent care to state champ, hobbled David Bell does enough to lead No. 11 Warren Central". USA Today. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  8. ^ DeFabo, Mike (January 5, 2019). "Warren Central receiver David Bell commits to Purdue at All-American Bowl". The Herald Bulletin. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  9. ^ Woods, David (October 12, 2019). "Purdue is missing one of the nation's top WRs, but David Bell is answering the call". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  10. ^ Carmin, Mike (December 25, 2019). "More spectacular plays in Purdue receiver David Bell's future". Journal & Courier. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  11. ^ McCammon, Michael (October 26, 2020). "David Bell garners Big Ten Player of the Week honors". 247Sports. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  12. ^ Bender, Bill (August 12, 2021). "David Bell is primed and ready to pick up where Rondale Moore left off at Purdue". Sporting News. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
  13. ^ "Bell Becomes Big Ten Receiver of the Year, O'Connell Named All-B1G". Purdue Boilermakers Athletics. December 1, 2021. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  14. ^ "Consensus All-America Teams (2020–2022)". Sports Reference. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  15. ^ "David Bell Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  16. ^ "David Bell, Purdue, WR, 2022 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  17. ^ "NFL combine 2022: Christian Watson imposing, Jameson Williams lighter amid ACL rehab as WRs, TEs get measured". CBSSports.com. Retrieved December 15, 2025.
  18. ^ Poisal, Anthony (April 29, 2022). "Browns select WR David Bell with No. 99 pick in 2022 NFL Draft". ClevelandBrowns.com. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  19. ^ "David Bell 2022 Game Log". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  20. ^ Russo, Kelsey (December 11, 2023). "3 Big Takeaways: WR David Bell with first career touchdown against the Jaguars". Cleveland Browns. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
  21. ^ "David Bell 2023 Game Log". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved January 25, 2025.
  22. ^ Kinnan, Cory (September 5, 2024). "Browns waive former third round pick after lackluster start to his career". Browns Wire. USA Today. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
  23. ^ "Browns sign WR Jaelon Darden to active roster, elevate two". ClevelandBrowns.com. September 7, 2024. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
  24. ^ "Browns place DT Maurice Hurst II and three others on injured reserve". ClevelandBrowns.com. September 11, 2024. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
  25. ^ "Browns sign CB Tre Avery to the active roster". clevelandbrowns.com. Retrieved October 15, 2025.
  26. ^ Oyefusi, Daniel. "Browns' David Bell retires from NFL, cites off-field injury". ESPN. Retrieved October 15, 2025.
  27. ^ Mary Kay Cabot (October 14, 2025). "Browns receiver David Bell retires after a surgical complication that would've made it life-threatening to play". The Plain Dealer.
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