The NFL is a rapidly evolving entity and in recent years, part of that evolution has led to the devaluation of running backs. The market no longer bears the fruit it once did and evidence of that is spread far and wide. That’s an unfortunate reality for many who play the position, including veteran Melvin Gordon, who remains unsigned headed into July.
But when did the shift at running back occur? At what point did NFL teams decide that they simply aren’t worth the money they once were?
During a recent appearance on The Jim Rome Show, Gordon offered his two cents.
“In my opinion, I think after Todd [Gurley] got paid and then [Rams coach] Sean McVay came out and said, ‘I will never pay a running back again; I’ll just use them and rotate them out,’ I think after that statement was made—and then I think they won the Super Bowl—it was like everybody just followed suit, I think,” Gordon said, as transcribed by NFL.com. “I kind of think that’s where everything just started going downhill."
“As you can tell, you have your exceptional backs. You have Josh Jacobs, you have Saquon [Barkley] and those boys just did their thing," Gordon continued. "They got tagged, so hopefully they do get paid. Hopefully, the teams tagged them just to have more time to try to figure out a number that works. You’d like to think that they didn’t tag them just to keep the number down, but I even heard comments about wanting Joe Mixon to take a cut. It’s just like, those are the top backs right now, and it’s just sad.”
Gurley signed his deal in 2018 but the market had already begun to go downhill at that point. When the New York Giants drafted Barkley at No. 2 overall that same year, critical takes quickly followed. Many had already begun arguing that capable running backs were a dime a dozen and production could be found later in the draft.
As the NFL transitioned to a more modernized, pass-heavy approach, the need for the Adrian Petersons and LaDainian Tomlinsons of the world subsided. Gurley’s massive contract and subsequent injury issues just appeared to hammer that home.
“It’s literally the worst position to play in the NFL right now. It literally sucks,” Gordon said.
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