And yeah. I agree with you, of course. A generational QB masks a whole ton of problems (including crappy lines). It’s the most important position in sports for a reason.
I just do think RB’s are becoming a bit too devalued.
NFL Running Backs- do they have a point?
And yeah. I agree with you, of course. A generational QB masks a whole ton of problems (including crappy lines). It’s the most important position in sports for a reason.
I just do think RB’s are becoming a bit too devalued.
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You're right. But the list does show no bellcow, 3 down rbs on the Superbowl champions. The position has changed. It sucks for them. I say this as a guy with a current rb's jersey. I love good running backs. But they aren't worth what they once were.
If you could guarantee an nfl owner that a younger qb could perform within 85-90% competency of the current qb, then they wouldn't be paying them 100s of millions of dollars. New rbs can do that. It sucks for the older ones.
No, they don’t have a point.
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- #29
Well that and this whole legal thing he has going on, a possible suspension looming and him wanting top dollar despite that.
On the team bus.
Contracts are all based on future output, not past accomplishments. Unfortunately, the league is very aware how short the productive years are for a running back, compared to productivity of cheaper talent.
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- #31
Not entire true.
I think RB’s are underpaid for the abuse they take. However, I wonder that the narrow margin for what is needed/learned in “football knowledge” between a rookie/1st yr player versus an established veteran may be driving this. Are concepts for RB’s as complicated as WR’s, QB’s or perhaps even TE’s?… other than picking up a blitzer every once in a while, could it be argued that their position is least impacted by defensive alignment and therefore makes fewer adjustments because their success is largely dictated by the performance of their offensive line?
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- #34
Again not really. The benefit of non guaranteed contracts is the reason for that. See Aaron Rodgers. No GM or Rodgers himself thought last year he was going to stay in GB and okay at a high level for years in the future. But it worked to get a deal done and have him come in for one year with little penalty to end.
TwoGlovesGarcia
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Supply and demand. Finding someone to tote the ball is easier than the other positions.
With the rule changes to make passing so much easier, and the fact that the game has gone that way, RBs are really only important for short yardage situations and clock management. The best teams in the league used to be the ones with the RB who rushed for over 100yards every game and a team total rushing near 200yards. But they would also have barely 200 yards passing. With teams knocking out 350+ passing yards now who needs a 1600yard RB.
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- #38
But using a K here is? Ooof.
But since you asked, it doesn’t change. See Zeke Elliott, no chance he was playing out the duration of contract. Very little real world application to fit your statements here.
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Most likely from a series of passes if at the end of the game.
Im indifferent but do have an opinion that RB’s have become a devalued commodity in the new era of the game. I think we all agree they take a beating and touch the ball more than anyone outside of QB’s, who are protected by the league.
Not sure where the league goes or if what I believe will be come the norm (holding out) will benefit the RB community.
I didn't bring up the kickers. Others did and I brought a reason why kickers are paid more.
While the Zeke contract was a thing, I think it mirrors the Todd Gurley contract a little, pay early on running back potential is usually expensive and not entirely fruitful. I'm just parroting the points about potential production echoed by the talking heads on TV.
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- #41
They became devalued because the majority of big time RB contracts have left the teams in tough spots on dead money.
The best RB in the league not named King Henry just signed a 50+ million dollar contract for the Ravens though.
Add to that, the Zeke contract is a perfect example why running back contracts are changing. Jerry Jones paid Zeke based on past performance and hope potential. Then Zeke's production wained and he got displaced by a younger cheaper back, while having a an albatross of a contract.
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This kind of goes along with this, but my son’s high school has 400 students. One of his classmates was the leading rusher in the entire state of Indiana. Very fast and elusive. He couldn’t even get a sniff from a MAC school so there must be a bazillion good RB’s at all levels. Basically this is a position that almost any athlete could play and it’s very dependent on the OL in the NFL. I would be interested in a metric that attempts to measure the actual impact of any given RB on a game. Just seen too many highly paid guys go down and some rookie from some no name school pop in to the same lineup and put up the same numbers. Also seem too many guys production go in absolute lockstep with the health and quality of the OL in front of them.
Just seems a supply and demand thing. I don’t see owners/GMs colluding to keep those prices down. The vast majority of them look for any edge possible to try to win.
Sucks to not get paid your perceived value but if those doing the paying don’t see it, then it’s just your perceived value, not your real value.
Sucks to not get paid your perceived value but if those doing the paying don’t see it, then it’s just your perceived value, not your real value.
Oh, that case has been going more in favor of Dalvin Cook at this point. I mean, come on. He was the Vikings nominee for the Rooney Award this past season.
“He's so well-respected in our building, but not a surprise to me that he is ultimately respected around the league the way he is," O'Connell said.
"Not only the player that Dalvin is, but the person, the leader, the things he does outside of this building to better our community. He's really something, but as far as sportsmanship goes, I've seen it firsthand," O'Connell added. "He's one of the best I've been around."
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- #46
more in favor of Cook? Have you read about it recently? The young woman allegedly turned down a million bucks in hush money from him to proceed, so i’m not sure we should rush to judgement.
It’s gaining steam and won’t go away.
Also important to remember the Vikings were only interested in keeping this model citizen with a restructure that included some clauses, and he refused which is why he is unemployed.
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- #47
The best RB in the NFL plays for a team with the worst OL in the league by a huge margin.
Running backs don’t win championships and teams are beginning to value them as such.
I have. I’m not rushing to judgment. But Cook has certainly scored some legal victories that are rather unusual in a civil case. There were a lot of strings attached to the proposed settlements. I’m not saying it’s a good look but I don’t think it’s a huge factor in him remaining unsigned. Your final point - him asking for top dollar - is why he remains unsigned.
Now, after my great defense of RB’s…I wouldn’t draft one in the first round or sign one to a lengthy contract extension. Poor guys.