‘Get it out the mud’: Resilient Quinton Bell vying for steady role on Dolphins’ defense

Quinton Bell loves the expression, ‘Get it out the mud.’

Ever since Bell’s high school days, he’s basically been making something out of nothing.

In high school, when multiple injuries caused major college programs to shy away from recruiting him, he signed with Prairie View A&M.

When his career as a wide receiver didn’t look promising, Bell seized an opportunity presented to him by one of his coaches there to switch to defense as an edge rusher.

The move got him to the NFL as a seventh-round pick of the Raiders.

But Bell spent the next five years bouncing around.

He was waived six times.

He was promoted and demoted from practice squads a staggering 24 times.

Bell, however, has not quit.

And for the past couple of weeks, Bell is seizing his latest opportunity to dig himself out of the ‘mud’ and make the Miami Dolphins’ 53-man roster.

“I feel like my whole career, starting in college, has just been a grind. ‘Get it out the mud,’ as we say, and going through that has just made me stronger,” Bell said. “It’s made me stronger; it’s made me work even harder. I love when people tell me ‘I can’t.’ I love when people tell me ‘No,’ because I’ve always known what I’m about and I’ve always known my skill set and what I can be.”

Bell hasn’t just flashed those skills, he’s arguably the biggest surprise of training camp so far.

Hoping to pounce on an opportunity with defensive stars Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb working their way back from serious injuries, Bell has opened the eyes of his coaches and teammates.

“You learn so much about players based upon how other players react and when he gets an edge of a lineman and is creating a hurry, pressure or sack or he’s long-arming while setting the edge, people lose their minds,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said last week. “And I think that’s because here’s a guy that comes to work every day with no excuses, doesn’t tally how many opportunities he gets; he makes the most of the ones that he does get. And because of that, when you have that type of mindset, you get more and more opportunities.”

Bell has played a total of nine games in the NFL — all as a backup — for the Bucs in 2020 and the Falcons in 2022. He played no defensive snaps for Tampa and just 61 for Atlanta.

The Dolphins listed Bell as a starting outside linebacker ahead of rookie first-round pick Chop Robinson for Friday’s preseason opener when they take on one of Bell’s former teams, the Atlanta Falcons, at 7 p.m. at Hard Rock Stadium.

It’s not a huge surprise Bell is listed ahead of Robinson, whom the Dolphins likely won’t rush into a starting role.

And while Phillips and Chubb figure to have their starting spots waiting for them once they return, Bell’s work could earn him a role in the team’s rotation at the position.

“It’s all my hard work,” said Bell, who recently got to wear the orange jersey in practice, which goes to the top player on defense in the prior practice. “It’s always a wonderful feeling when you’re coming out here and grinding every day, trying to get better and just leaving it all out there and that work is being noticed and appreciated.”

Bell played cornerback and outside linebacker in high school but was primarily a wide receiver as he began his college career.

Bell was not highly recruited after suffering some injuries his senior year at Costa Mesa High School in California.

Even after starting his college career, Bell’s skills as a wide receiver didn’t seem bound to take him places.

Bell said he would not be in the NFL, pressuring quarterbacks or bottling up running backs, had it not been for his former college defensive line coach Todd Middleton, now the d-line coach at Alabama State University.

“I was taking a nap in my dorm room one day and he called me and said, ‘Hey man, come in and talk to me.’ He said, ‘I want you to come edge rush,’ and really at the time it was a crazy request,” Bell said. “I was a receiver, I was about 215 (pounds), lanky. But he started talking to me about opportunity, he started talking about the NFL and ultimately, it’s the best decision I’ve ever made to this day, for sure.

“I played for three years, I probably had one or two touchdowns in three years. I wasn’t going to get an opportunity in the NFL as a wide receiver and I knew that which is why I made the switch because I had nothing to lose.”

Bell recorded 7.5 sacks and 46 tackles during his final season at Prairie View A&M — his first as a full-time edge rusher.

But Bell has had more than his share of twists, turns and disappointments not being able to stick on one squad since arriving in the NFL in 2019.

Bell hasn’t lost faith in his abilities, however.

“I had a great season playing one year of a position, and I know if I can do that, I can do anything,” Bell said. “So I love the grind. I love the mud and I feel like ultimately, all the things I’ve been through in the NFL have just made me better and made me want it more.”

Bell quickly caught the attention of his position coach, Ryan Crow, with his high motor and work ethic this offseason as well as his strength and physicality.

“The number one thing [with Bell] is his mindset,” Crow said. “He attacks everything 100 miles per hour and does it the right way. He is a hungry player. When you look at how the players respond to him, you see a great player that flies around and tries to do everything he can to help the defense.”

No matter what role Bell ultimately earns on the Dolphins’ defense if he continues on his current trajectory, he plans to attack it full speed as he has been since January.

“It’s a blessing to be at the right place at the right time and really doing what I feel like I want to do in this training camp coming off of OTAs,” Bell said. “Either way it goes, I was going to be ready. I’m just blessed to be in this position and have this opportunity.”