B. J. Bello was born on October 31, 1994, in New Lenox, Illinois. He played high school footballatLincoln-Way West High School in New Lenox, Illinois. He recorded 81 tackles, 1 forced fumble and 1 interception his senior year in 2011. He also participated in track and field at Lincoln-Way West, earning All-State honors.[1]
Bello played for the Illinois Fighting Illini of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign from 2013 to 2015. He was redshirted in 2012. He played in four games in 2013 and recorded four tackle assists. He played in nine games in 2014 and totaled three tackle assists. Bello played in eight games in 2015, recording one solo tackle, five tackle assists and one pass breakup.[1] He transferred to play for the Illinois State RedbirdsofIllinois State University in 2016.[2] He played in 12 games, starting 11, in 2016, totaling 72 total tackles, 6 sacks, 4 pass breakups and 2 forced fumbles.[3] Bello was named to the MVFC All-Newcomer Team in 2016.[2]
Bello was rated the 45th best outside linebacker in the 2017 NFL Draft by NFLDraftScout.com.[4]Lance Zierlein of NFL.com predicted that he would go undrafted and be a priority free agent, stating that Bello "needs to be stronger and tougher to hold up as a 4–3 linebacker which is where he'll likely project. Teams could look to bulk him up and see if he could become a situational rusher off the edge, but he'll have to become a quality special teams player to make that a possibility."[5]
Bello signed with the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent on May 4, 2017.[8] He was waived by the Browns on September 1 and signed to the team's practice squad on September 4.[9][10] He was promoted to the active roster on September 8, 2017.[11]
Bello was waived by the Browns on September 1, 2018.[12]
On October 16, 2018, Bello was signed to the Philadelphia Eagles practice squad.[14] He was promoted to the active roster on December 14, 2018.[15] On June 5, 2019, the Eagles waived Bello.[16]
On July 27, 2019, Bello signed with the Houston Texans.[17] He was waived/injured during final roster cuts on August 31,[18] and reverted to the team's injured reserve list the next day. He was waived from injured reserve with an injury settlement on September 4.
On September 30, 2020, Bello was signed to the Los Angeles Chargers practice squad.[26] He was elevated to the active roster on November 21, November 28, and December 12 for the team's weeks 11, 12, and 14 games against the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, and Atlanta Falcons, and reverted to the practice squad after each game.[27][28][29] He was signed to the active roster on December 17, 2020.[30]
^ ab"B.J. Bello". FightingIllini.com. Archived from the original on October 9, 2017. Retrieved October 8, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^ ab"B.J. Bello". GoRedBirds.com. Archived from the original on October 9, 2017. Retrieved October 8, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^"2016 Illinois State Football"(PDF). GoRedBirds.com. p. 5. Archived from the original on October 9, 2017. Retrieved October 8, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^ ab"B.J. Bello". NFLDraftScout.com. Archived from the original on October 9, 2017. Retrieved October 8, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^"B. J. Bello". NFL.com. Archived from the original on October 9, 2017. Retrieved October 8, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^"Browns reduce roster to 65". ClevelandBrowns.com. September 1, 2017. Archived from the original on October 9, 2017. Retrieved October 8, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^"Browns claim OL Zach Banner". ClevelandBrowns.com. September 4, 2017. Archived from the original on October 9, 2017. Retrieved October 8, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
