Jacob Bell ( American football ) Jacob Bell ( born March 2 , 1981 ) is a former American football guard . He was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the fifth round of the 2004 NFL Draft . He played college football at Miami University . Bell has also played for the St . Louis Rams . Early years . Bell was born on the west side of Cleveland , Ohio before moving to Cleveland Heights in his youth . He displayed an interest in sports from early on , of which football was one of his favorites . He attended Saint Ignatius High School ( Cleveland , Ohio ) before winning a scholarship at Miami University in Ohio . College career . He played in 39 games with 38 starts at Miami University , gaining starting experience at left tackle ( 13 games ) , right tackle ( two ) and right guard ( 23 ) . As senior , started all 14 games at right guard and earned first - team All - MAC honors en route to conference championship . Helped Redhawks set school and conference records for most points ( 553 ) and most total yards ( 7 , 016 ) . Also helped team set school record for rushing touchdowns in season ( 34 ) . As junior , started first two contests at left tackle before shifting to right guard , where he started nine of next 10 games . Started every game as redshirt freshman at left tackle and gained two starts there as sophomore . He graduated with degree in sport organization and was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity . Professional career . Pre - draft . 2004 pre - draft workouts , Bell was timed in 4 . 98 seconds in the 40 - yard dash , performed 30 bench press repetitions of 225 pounds and posted a 32 - inch vertical leap . Tennessee Titans . He signed a three - year $ 1 . 1 million contract with the Titans as a rookie in 2004 . As a rookie in 2004 , Bell played in 15 games with 14 starts at left guard before tearing his right anterior cruciate ligament against Denver ( 12 / 25 ) . En route to being named to All - Rookie teams of ESPN . com , Football Digest and Pro Football Weekly , helped Chris Brown rush for 1 , 067 yards and protected Steve McNair and Billy Volek as they combined for 3 , 829 passing yards . In 2005 Bell played in nine games with one start at right tackle at Pittsburgh ( 9 / 11 / 2005 ) . He also saw action at right guard , left tackle and on special teams . In 2006 , started 13 games at left guard and two games at right tackle as he helped pave way for fifth ranked rushing attack in NFL and five 200 - yard rushing games which ranked second in the NFL . Bell helped Travis Henry amass 1 , 211 rushing yards and opened rushing lanes for Offensive Rookie of the Year Vince Young as he gained 552 rushing yards , becoming the first rookie quarterback in the Super Bowl era to reach 500 rushing yards . In 2007 , Bell signed a one - year $ 1 . 85 million tender offer as a restricted free agent . In 2007 Bell played in a career - high 16 games with 16 starts . . . also started in Titans ’ playoff contest . He opened holes for rushing attack that ranked fifth in the NFL gaining 2 , 109 yards ( 131 . 8 yards per game ) behind RB LenDale White ’ s career - high 1 , 110 yards . St . Louis Rams . On March 3 , 2008 , he signed a six - year $ 36 million deal with the St . Louis Rams . The deal contains $ 13 million guaranteed , including a $ 7 million signing bonus . In 2008 Bell played in 13 games with 13 starts . Cincinnati Bengals . Bell signed with the Cincinnati Bengals on April 6 , 2012 . Retirement . On May 8 , 2012 , Bell announced his retirement . The following day Bell said about his abrupt decision to retire only one month after joining the Bengals , " I ' ve been thinking about some different things , thinking about health , thinking about the future of my family having to deal with some kind of crazy disease that nobody even knows about , where people want their brains studied after they ' re dead , donating their brains to research . It ' s just crazy to see how someone like Junior Seau took his own life over - - God knows what he was really struggling and dealing with . But you have to believe it came from the game of football . I want to get out before the game makes me get out , where I can get out on my own terms , and I can limit the amount of stress and negative impact that the game would leave on me . I played under a guy , Mike Munchak in Tennessee , and I used to watch him as he was running around the practice field for a half hour before practice , and I ' d see the way he ' d run , " Bell said . " He played 13 seasons , he played all 13 seasons with no cartilage in his knees . And I thought to myself , I don ' t want to look like that . I don ' t want to be at the point where I ' m jeopardizing my true health for money pretty much . For money and for celebrity . "