Eagles bet on bargain backfield for 2023
Thanks to the franchise tag, Tony Pollard is due $10 million from the Dallas Cowboys. Same for Saquon Barkley and the Giants. Meanwhile, one NFC East rival is taking a more economical approach with their running backs.
If it’s not broken, don’t fix it. Philadelphia rode three inexpensive running backs all the way to Super Bowl LVII last season. On Tuesday, they signed Rashaad Penny and re-signed Boston Scott to one-year deals.
With the team not expected to bring back Miles Sanders, Philadelphia will rely on a trio of running backs collectively making around $5 million next year.
After playing in just 28 games over the last four seasons, nobody was going to offer Penny a lot of money this offseason. But if the 27-year-old back can stay healthy, his $1.35 million base salary would be a steal for an early-down back.
Scott has been with the team since 2018. He’s always been a low-use rotational running back, but 54 carries last season were a career low for the 5-foot-6 back. He’ll occasionally help on kick returns, but he’s best-known for his play against the Giants.
According to Stamuse, nine of Scott’s 16 career touchdowns have come against the G-men. As long as the Giants are in the NFC East, Scott should always have a role with the Eagles.
Kenneth Gainwell has operated as the team’s third-down, pass-catching back since being drafted in 2021. Last season, he had almost half as many catches as carries.
He has almost 1,000 total yards over the past two seasons, and he’ll make just over $1 million with bonuses next year. After getting no more than eight carries in a regular-season game last year, Gainwell’s attempts nearly doubled in the playoffs.
With apologies to the rest of the NFC East, the days of big-money, bell-cow running backs are becoming a thing of the past. The Eagles have a pretty good committee that should be fine running behind an excellent offensive line.
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