David Bell

David Kyreem Bell (born December 14, 2000) is an American former professional football player who spent his entire four-year career as a wide receiver with the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). 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. As a junior, Bell recorded 52 catches for 1,075 yards and 11 touchdowns. He was also a member of Warren Central's undefeated Class 4A State Championship Basketball team. 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. 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.

College career Bell became a starter at wide receiver as a true freshman at Purdue University. 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. He finished the season with 86 receptions for 1,035 yards and seven touchdowns and was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year.

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. 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. As a junior, Bell repeated as a first-team All-Big Ten selection and the Richter–Howard Receiver of the Year. He was named as a Consensus All-American for 2021.

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

Professional career

Bell was selected by the Cleveland Browns with the 99th overall pick in the third round of the 2022 NFL draft. He finished his rookie season with 24 receptions for 214 receiving yards in 16 games and three starts.

On December 10, 2023, Bell caught the first touchdown of his career on a 41–yard reception from Joe Flacco against the Jacksonville Jaguars. 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.

On September 5, 2024, Bell was waived by the Browns after initially making the 53 man roster, and re-signed to the practice squad. 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.

Bell opened the 2025 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." 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.