Raiders Plan to Activate Bell : AFC championship: Former Ram back to suit up after being on injured reserve since Oct. 20.

Raider tailback Greg Bell, out for three months because of a sprained ankle, has been strolling the sideline during games dressed in expensive Italian suits.

But he hopes to trade his suits for a football uniform Sunday when the Raiders play at Buffalo in the AFC championship game.

“Now I’ve got the best suit of all ready to be put on this weekend, my football suit,” Bell said.

With tailback Bo Jackson likely to miss the game because of a hip injury, Coach Art Shell said the Raiders plan to activate Bell for Sunday’s game at Rich Stadium.

Bell, who was placed on the injured reserve list Oct. 20 to make room for Jackson, who made his debut the next day in a 24-9 victory at San Diego, is so eager to play that he volunteered for special teams duty.

“Greg’s been begging me all year long about getting back on the roster,” Shell said. “He even volunteered to go on special teams. He wants to be a part of what we’ve accomplished, and you can’t blame him for that.”

This will be the third time that Bell has returned to Buffalo, where he played three seasons and twice led the Bills in rushing before he was traded to the Rams in 1987.

And Bell hopes he fares better than he did in his last two games against the Bills, who limited him to a total of 63 yards in 31 carries.

When he returned to Buffalo with the Rams last season, Bell spent the week before the game filling reporters’ notebooks with his gripes against the Bills’ management, team doctors, and several players.

But the Bills had the last word.

Bell, who had gained 512 yards in five games, was held to 44 yards in 21 carries as the Bills handed the Rams their first loss in six games, 23-20. It triggered a four-game losing streak and the Rams never forgave Bell.

Bell kept his mouth shut when the Raiders played at Buffalo earlier this season, but he didn’t fare better, rushing for 19 yards in 10 carries as the Bills dealt the Raiders their first loss in five games, 38-24.

Bell sprained his ankle the next week in a 24-17 victory over Seattle and has sat out the Raiders’ last 11 games. Even though Bell’s ankle sprain healed quickly, he wasn’t activated because the Raiders’ tailback team of Marcus Allen and Jackson flourished, combining for 1,380 yards and 17 touchdowns.

Thus Bell, who signed a one-year contract worth more than $600,000, earned more money for playing only six games--$100,000 per game--than he did last season, when he made $450,000 for playing a full season for the Rams.

“It’s been very frustrating because I’ve always seen myself as a contributor,” Bell said. “You can point to the fact that the trade went down and I got a heck of an increase in pay. Some guys would be happy playing in the six games that I’ve played in, but my total happiness will come as I contribute and help the team win this game Sunday and take us to the Super Bowl.”

The Rams made Bell earn his paycheck as he led the team in rushing for the second consecutive season with 1,137 yards in 272 carries last season. He had two 200-yard games, gaining a career-high 221 yards in 28 carries in a 41-38 victory over Green Bay and rushing for 210 yards in 26 carries and one touchdown in a 24-20 season-ending victory over New England that put the Rams in the playoffs.

But Bell wore out his welcome in Anaheim after he demanded to have his contract renegotiated at the end of the 1989 season.

After sitting out training camp before the 1989 season, he returned after the Rams signed him to a two-year deal worth $925,000.

But after Bell asked to have his contract renegotiated after the season, the Rams traded him to the Raiders for a reported fourth-round draft pick.

When Bell joined the Raiders, there was speculation that Allen’s days were numbered because the backfield wouldn’t accommodate Jackson, Bell and Allen. But Allen remained with the team and Bell watched from the sideline with an injury that healed quickly.

Bell, who has never been afraid to express himself, refused to criticize the Raiders for not playing him.

Instead, Bell waited patiently for his chance, which has finally arrived.

And the Raiders say Bell is ready to return.

“I don’t think the layoff’s going to hurt him,” Raider quarterback Jay Schroeder said. “Greg’s been working out real hard. It’s playoff time. Greg’s going to be excited. If he gets the opportunity to play, I think it’s great for Greg. There’s no question that he’s a great running back and if he gets the ball he’s going to make some plays.”

Bell, who rushed for 164 yards in 47 carries before he was hurt, maintains that the layoff won’t bother him because he has a history of playing well after sitting out training camp.

“What people don’t understand is that I’ve been practicing for the last nine weeks,” Bell said. “If you follow my career, I hold out every summer and I come back and get off to a good start. I’m not particularly concerned that I haven’t been hit. I’ve been out here running the ball anyway.”

This will be the second consecutive year that Bell has played in a conference championship game. He gained 124 yards in 27 carries and scored one touchdown as the Rams defeated Philadelphia, 21-7, in an NFC wild-card game. After the Rams defeated the Giants to reach the NFC final, Bell was held to 20 yards in eight carries as the San Francisco 49ers beat the Rams, 30-3.

But Bell says the Raiders have a better chance of getting to the Super Bowl than the Rams did last season.

“Last year we were so high on ourselves because of the way we played in our two previous games,” Bell said. “We beat a very defensive New York team and a very physical Philadelphia team. Then we got in (the NFC championship game) and we kind of miscued in staying with our game plan and decided to pass 90% of the time. (The Rams threw 36 passes and ran 10 running plays against the 49ers.)

“As long as we stay with our game plan this team can go a lot further than (the Rams).”