Detroit Lions' Nick Bellore readies for old team at new position
Nick Bellore spent 4 seasons with the Detroit Lions' Week 1 opponent, the New York Jets, after going undrafted out of Central Michigan
Detroit Lions' Nick Bellore readies for old team at new position Nick Bellore spent 4 seasons with the Detroit Lions' Week 1 opponent, the New York Jets, after going undrafted out of Central Michigan Check out this story on Freep.com: https://on.freep.com/2PH2PnI
Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press Published 9:39 a.m. ET Sept. 6, 2018
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Nick Bellore, LB: Lions GM Martin Mayhew said he wanted coverage specialists and Bellore was one of the best in the league last year. He played at Central Michigan, so it wouldn't be hard to lure him back.(Photo: Wilfredo Lee, AP)
Nick Bellore had plenty of dreams but no real expectations when he signed his first contract with the New York Jets seven years ago. And now that he's about to open his eighth NFL season against the team that gave him his break, Bellore can only marvel at where football has taken him.
"I've always thought of it as, I was undrafted and you can take it one of two ways," Bellore said. "You can get upset about it or you can use it to kind of motivate you to excel, and I used it as fuel to help me."
A special-teams ace early in his career, Bellore has seen his role expand and evolve in ways he never thought possible.
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The Central Michigan product spent four seasons as a backup linebacker with the Jets and two more as a part-time starter with the San Francisco 49ers before signing with the Lions last spring.
He led the Lions with 308 special-teams snaps in 2017, made two starts at linebacker and pulled triple-duty as the team's fullback in short-yardage situations.
When he re-upped for another season in free agency, Bellore did so with the understanding that he'd play on special teams and full-time at fullback, a move he never could have conceived back when he was with the Jets.
"I don't know if I would have seen this coming, but every year there's something new that pops up," Bellore said. "We even played here when I was in New York (against the Bills) when we got snowed out. We played the game here and it was a free game. I remember getting, I don't even remember how many tickets, I had like 250 tickets for that because they were free. A lot more people want to come when the tickets are free."
Fullback Nick Bellore runs a drill, during the Detroit Lions training camp at their practice facility in Allen Park on Sat. July 28, 2018. (Photo: Kimberly P. Mitchell, Detroit Free Press)
Bellore said he still has fond memories of his time in New York.
He signed after the 2011 lockout and played in every game as a rookie. He caught a 23-yard pass – his first reception at any level of football – from Tim Tebow on a fake punt in 2012. And while he never made the playoffs in his four seasons with the Jets, his experience there spring-boarded him to better things.
"Obviously, they were the ones to first take a chance on me and I'll forever be grateful for that," Bellore said. "Obviously, it's a business so it's just kind of like any other week, but I'm sure there's a couple familiar faces that were there when I was there and it'll be fun to go against them."
The Jets return just one starter from Bellore's final game with the team in 2014, ironically enough, running back Bilal Powell.
Detroit Lions fullback Nick Bellore runs a drill during practice in Allen Park on Monday, June 11, 2018. (Photo: Paul Sancya, AP)
Where he used to tackle ball carriers like Powell, Bellore is now opening holes for them, and he's doing so with the help of the man the Lions drafted to replace him, rookie Nick Bawden.
A seventh-round pick out of San Diego State, Bawden tore his ACL during June minicamp and is out for the season. Still, he's spent time around the team and Bellore said Bawden has been instrumental in helping him transition to fullback.
"He's learning the plays like I'm learning the plays, but just kind of, (he reminds me) I don't always have to go full-steam ahead every single play, which I'm used to at linebacker," Bellore said. "He kind of tells me to take it easy when I need to and then go when I need to, so he kind of is my speed governor out there."
While fullbacks remain largely an endangered species in the NFL, Bellore should see a tick up in playing time this year because of the Lions' re-commitment to the running game.
Bellore remains one of the best special-teams players on the Lions' roster, a four-phase contributor, and LeGarrette Blount said he looks like a natural at fullback, too.
"He's a great fullback," Blount said. "I think he's really physical. One thing about him is that he's really smart, he's really fundamentally sound. Anything that they ask him to do, he pretty much picks it up pretty quickly so I think that he'll be really good for us this year."
Bellore has high hopes, too, for himself and the team.
He said he likes what he's seen from the running game so far, and even though he's still in the linebacker section of the locker room, he'll be a big part of whatever success the Lions have on the ground.
"I didn't anticipate this direction, but everything is kind of a whirlwind in this league," Bellore said. "You look back and it's Year 8, so you got to take it kind of, everything is one week at a time and learn every day at practice and get better because I have to make up for lost time and really perfect what I'm doing."
Contact Dave Birkett: dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett. Download our Lions Xtra app for free on Apple and Android!
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