Coach Adam Gase said Wednesday that Perine will play a larger role moving forward following the release of starting running back Le'Veon Bell, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News reports. "Perine's definitely going to get bigger role," Gase said. "Frank [Gore', you're not going to lean on him, because where he's at in his career. Getting Perine involved is going to be critical."
While Bell was sidelined with a hamstring injury in Weeks 2 through 4, Perine only logged 15 carries to Gore's 49, but Gase surely realizes that continuing to feed a 37-year-old running back over a fourth-round rookie is a surefire way to lose one's job when coaching an 0-5 team. While Perine's 3.7 yards per carry and two catches for minus-1 yards on the season aren't anything to write home about, he has a golden opportunity to seize the Jets' lead-back role and build his value.