The NFL has come a long way since its early days, and as per usual, not everyone has benefitted from changes.
Despite their undeniable importance and impact on the game, running backs have become expendable and borderline disposable pieces nowadays, even the best in the game.
Teams would rather draft a young RB and keep him on board for a cheap deal and then let him walk away instead of paying him or extending his contract.
That’s why guys like Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs, and Tony Pollard couldn’t get a deal with their respective teams before yesterday’s franchise tag deadline.
Even so, NFL analyst Colin Cowherd believes all the people complaining about the ruthless market for running backs should just deal with the fact that all business changes, and the NFL is just another business.
“Everything changes… It’s not that I don’t have sympathy but you’ve got to evolve.”
— @ColinCowherd on Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs and Tony Pollard not getting long-term deals pic.twitter.com/pNnsjyvu3u
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) July 18, 2023
Per Cowherd, tight ends are finally getting some more money because of their impact and the new rules, also acknowledging that the wide receivers can have longer careers because of how the rules protect them.
Running backs are vulnerable out there, and their downfalls are way more evident and rapid than at other positions; thus teams don’t want to commit big-time money or long-term contracts to them.
As cruel as it may seem, that’s just the nature of business as things stand now, and it used to be the very same way for pretty much all players except quarterbacks throughout the course of history.
Even so, it seems like both parties will have to reach some middle ground before this turns into a bit of a crisis.
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