Per Fox's Jordan Schultz, Jimmy Bell Jr. has signed with the Chargers. Bell carries an enormous frame at 6-9 and 330 pounds. The catch? He never played college football.
Instead, the former basketball player is looking to take the Antonio Gates path to the league. Bell was reportedly signed as the Chargers' 19th undrafted free agent after they released their initial 18-player class.
Jimmy Bell Jr's path to the Chargers has been unorthodox
Bell played four years of college basketball at St. Louis, West Virginia, and Mississippi State. At the end of his fourth season, he was out of eligibility for college basketball. However, he had a year of eligibility remaining if he wanted to play college football.
Bell participated in some spring drills at Mississippi State in 2024, but it didn't go much further than that. Bell then entered the transfer portal, but failed to find a landing spot to be able to continue his collegiate career in football.
Obviously, the traits stand out with Bell and his foot quickness at his size. While Bell was at West Virginia, a scout for the Kansas City Chiefs told then-Mountaineers HC Bob Huggins about how great of a football prospect he would be. He has some high school background along the offensive line from when he played roughly eight or nine years ago.
Bell joins four other offensive linemen that the Chargers signed in undrafted free agency. LA also took Pittsburgh's Branson Taylor in the sixth round of the draft. Joe Hortiz said that Taylor will play guard for the team in yesterday's post-draft media availability.
It goes without saying that Bell is just a project for the Chargers. But he'll get the chance to prove that he deserves more reps and opportunities in practice. Rookie minicamp and rookie football development programs will begin in early May for Los Angeles.