INDIANAPOLIS — They tried to prevent this. They tried to circumvent this. And they tried to, at bare minimum, vent about this.
An offseason later, an NFL running backs’ Zoom meeting seems only to have accomplished that third objective.
Last July, NFLPA executive vice president Austin Ekeler helped organize a live call for a position group that felt undervalued and disheartened. On that call and over group text, they wondered why they weren’t getting long-term deals and why the franchise tag seemed to become a weapon used in concert against them.
Was this just unlucky timing, as the New York Giants’ Saquon Barkley, Dallas Cowboys’ Tony Pollard and Las Vegas Raiders’ Josh Jacobs all hit free agency in the same cycle? Were the Cowboys’ Ezekiel Elliott and Minnesota Vikings’ Dalvin Cook released more because of their outdated megacontracts than because any reasonably large running back contract would now become taboo across the league?
Perhaps, players hoped, this was a blip on the radar and a cyclical league’s trend would rebound.
The prevailing sentiment at the NFL scouting combine is it will not.
Consider that more than 40 running backs in NFL history have received multiyear contracts averaging more than $7 million per year, per Spotrac.com. And yet, a full 20 years after the first contract entered that stratosphere, just five running backs enter the 2024 season still riding contracts in that range. (Guarantees and structure are among other relevant factors by which to judge contracts.)
Yahoo Sports spoke with NFL executives, coaches and agents at the combine this week to gauge league perception of the running back market. Here are our top three takeaways:
1. The roster-building argument
Most NFL teams don’t believe the run game, in the broad sense, has lost its value. But many are reconsidering their route to establishing a run game. Coaches and agents alike cite an increasing trend toward investing in offensive line contracts rather than running…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/as-ominous-free-agency-again-looms-for-rbs-nfl-insiders-wonder-if-the-tides-will-ever-change-044703175.html
Author : Yahoo Sports
Publish date : 2024-03-01 04:48:07
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