The toughest running back among NFL free agents may surprise you

When it comes to NFL running backs, the best ability is often availability and given the nature of the position, durability is key. So who’s the toughest among this year’s crop of free agent ball carriers? 

For this completely unscientific study, we simply divided the number of carries by the number of games missed over the past four years. To go back further wouldn't be fair to older players considering former Eagle/future Bear D’Andre Swift has played only four seasons.

Now let’s see who’s toughest running back among those changing teams (in reverse order.)

10. Gus Edwards

Edwards arrived in Baltimore in 2018 as an undrafted free agent and had 3,395 yards with 26 touchdowns as a Raven. Thanks to a torn ACL that cost him the entire 2021 season, the future Charger missed 25 games over the past four seasons with only 429 carries.

9. Saquon Barkley

Had this been a three-year sample, Barkley would have fared much better. The former Giant missed all but two games in 2020 with a torn ACL but has appeared in 43 of a possible 51 games since. Still, Philadelphia’s new running back had 723 carries over the past four years while missing 22 games.

8. Zack Moss

Moss rarely had the backfield to himself with the Bills or Colts but still managed to miss a total of 14 games in four seasons. His 794 yards led Indianapolis in 2023, but with a healthy Jonathan Taylor back for 2024, the team had no problem letting him join the Chargers.

7. D’Andre Swift

Swift led the Eagles and finished 2023 as the NFL’s fifth-leading rusher with 1,049 yards but with just 593 carries and 11 games missed in his four-year career, he could be a risk for Chicago next season.

6. Austin Ekeler

Ekeler joined the Chargers after going undrafted in 2017. Since then he’s established himself as a dual-threat weapon with 8,239 all-purpose yards. But with 10 games missed over the past four seasons, Ekeler hopes to stay healthy for the Commanders in 2024.

5. Aaron Jones

Jones looked great with three touchdowns against the Cowboys in the NFC playoffs but like Ekeler, he’s missed 10 games since 2020 including six last year. The future Viking has played a full NFL season just twice in his career, the last time in 2022.

4. Derrick Henry

Henry leads the group with 1,226 carries over the past four years. The longtime Titan and soon-to-be Raven missed nine games in 2021 with a foot fracture, otherwise he’d top the list.

3. Josh Jacobs

With just six games missed and 1,063 carries since 2020, no wonder the Packers are signing the former All-Pro, albeit to a series of one-year deals.

2. Tony Pollard

Admittedly, this one needs an asterisk. Pollard missed just games in his past four years with the Cowboys but didn’t earn the starting job until 2023. Still, his recovery from serious knee and ankle injuries at the end of 2022 should give hope to Titans fans.

1. Devin Singletary

Singletary had 737 carries for the Bills and Texans with one game missed over the past four years. That’s easy math for a Giants team that just agreed to terms with the 26-year-old running back.