The Lord works in mysterious ways. Tatum Bell, released by the Lions prior to the season for being a better luggage thief than running back, now finds himself back in the league. And all it took was for the Broncos to lose 25 running backs to injured reserve. Denver originally selected Bell in the second round of the 2004 draft, but traded him to the Lions last year in a deal that brought cornerback Dre' Bly to the Broncos. During the '07 season, Bell played in only five games and rushed for 182 yards, and then, after turning to a life of crime some eight months later, the team cut ties with him.
Desperate times and whatnot have forced the Broncos to re-sign Bell, and NFL.com's Adam Schefter reports that there's a pretty good chance he'll play this weekend against the Falcons. Apparently, Mike Shanahan has less confidence in a Peyton Hillis-featured running attack than I do.
Unlike Daunte Culpepper and Ty Law, two players recently signed after extended layoffs, Bell won't take long to get up to speed because this is his second tour with the Broncos. And more importantly, as Gretz points out, he's also "familiar with the locker room and, you know, where all the guys keep their luggage."
Amen to that. Now let's all pray for Travis Henry.




