NFL realizing value of top RBs
When Todd Gurley II struck his huge, four-year, $57 million extension with the Los Angeles Rams earlier this summer, you can imagine the buzz among brethren running backs across the NFL.
“It’s great for the running back position, which has been kind of devalued,” Ezekiel Elliott said during the Dallas Cowboys’ camp in Oxnard, Calif. “But we’ve seen a good trend of running backs picked high and after they are picked high, their teams are doing better.
“So I think the league is finally noticing the value of the running back.”
Somewhere, absent Pittsburgh Steelers star Le’Veon Bell – yet to report to training camp while franchise-tagged for the second year in a row — might beg to differ while wondering what more he could have done to land the type of secured haul that Gurley commanded.
Gurley’s pact included a $21 million signing bonus as part of $45 million in practical guarantees, according to Sportac.com. Sure, the Rams still have a tugof-war headache in trying to come to terms with holdout D-tackle Aaron Donald, the league’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year. But at least they won’t have the type of stress the Steelers and Bell have had, compounded by the strings that have long been attached to running back money.
You know the theme: Running backs are not valued like other skilled positions. There’s no need to invest high picks in running backs, who can be drafted later. A committee approach is the ticket, with cheaper backs.
Yet take Bell out of the Steelers’ prolific offense and what do you have?
What are Rams coach Sean McVay’s deft schemes without Gurley? What happened to the Cowboys last season, without a full campaign from Elliott?
Gurley’s deal raised the bar and trumpets the position that some running backs are indeed worth the type of big bucks paid to elite receivers, cover cornerbacks and versatile linebackers.
It’s striking that Gurley’s deal, averaging $14.375 million, dwarfs the $8.25 million average that Devonta Freeman signed for last year with the Atlanta Falcons (5 years, $41.25 million) that was previously the highest average for a multi-year deal for running backs.
Bell, 26 and heading into Year 6 in Pittsburgh, will earn $14.544 million on the tag this season, raising his two-year tag money to $26.6 million. Not exactly chump change, but risky business – from the view of both sides – for a player at the line-of-fire position with the shortest life span in football.
Steelers GM Kevin Colbert reiterated this week that he still wants to sign Bell to a long-term contract, although franchise tag stipulations prevent that from happening until next offseason, when Bell could be poised to hit the open market – with leverage undoubtedly hinging on his health and productivity this season.
“So much can change between now and 2019, for either party,” Colbert said. “Now the thinking is, ‘Let’s make the most of it.’”
The Steelers might have had a glimpse of a future without Bell during Thursday night’s exhibition at Green Bay, when second-year back James Conner rushed for 57 yards, including a 26-yard touchdown. Although Conner, a third-round pick from Pitt in 2017, has drawn positive reviews during camp and appears sleeker this summer, he is hardly campaigning for a bigger role.
“When Le’Veon gets back, he’s RB-1,” Conner said.
Still, it will be interesting to watch how the workload evolves. Last year, Bell missed camp and still led the NFL with a career-high 321 carries, caught 88 passes and ranked second to Gurley in the league with 1,946 yards from scrimmage. Conner had just 32 carries (2.3 average) and didn’t catch a pass as a rookie. Knowing Bell – who during the middle of last season beamed about a workload that included 35, 32 and 35 carries in the three victories over a four-game span – the Steelers would hard-pressed to lessen his load.
But striking a deal has been problematic, with Ben Roethlisberger averaging $21.85 million (below scale for quarterbacks) and Antonio Brown topping the receiver charts at $17 million per year. Pittsburgh ranks fourth in the league for cap dollars allocated to offense, which highlights how challenging it might be to sign Bell to a long-term deal.
“That’s my job,” Colbert insisted, “to make sure we can.” And if not, develop a Plan B. One reason the Rams would sign Gurley – and so early – is they don’t have an exceptionally big quarterback contract on the books as Jared Goff enters Year 3 of his rookie contract.
Rams GM Les Snead told USA TODAY, “Our big-picture philosophy was, ‘As soon as we can lock in our core players while we’re in this window, it will help us plan better for the future.’ “
The Cowboys will likely have a similar bridge to cross with Elliott, eligible like quarterback Dak Prescott for a new contract in 2019.
After Elliott, drafted fourth overall in 2016, Jacksonville running back Leonard Fournette (fourth overall, 2017) will be in the queue. The high draft status, if it leads to the production to go with high expectations, looms as a serious X-factor in how the running back market will shake down in coming years. When the New York Giants took Saquon Barkley second overall in April, he was the highest-drafted running back since Reggie Bush was picked by New Orleans in that slot in 2006.
“When we picked Todd 10th overall it was, ‘Whoa, wait a minute, you can get running backs later,’ “Snead reflected. “Then we see Ezekiel go fourth and all the way up to Saquon this year. I don’t think people are all of a sudden saying running backs are more important. RB is just two letters in the alphabet. I just think these guys happen to be born within a five-year span of each other, that God gave them some really good genetics and they made the most of them.”
Exactly how much those genetics are worth, compared with, say, quarterback genes and pass rusher genes, is a debate with legs.
Sure, the NFL is a passing league. But dominant runners are in vogue, too – especially in January. And Gurley’s deal, Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones allowed, obviously moved the market for running backs.
“Certainly, everybody’s understanding their value,” said Jones. “It will affect Zeke. I’m sure Zeke smiled when he saw (Gurley’s contract).”