With the releases of former running backs Ezekiel Elliott from the Dallas Cowboys and Dalvin Cook from the Minnesota Vikings, does it spell a shift in the NFL? If you think about it, the league has become a pass dominant league where quarterbacks and wide receivers are getting the big bucks to carry teams.
The writing was on the wall with Elliott though as Tony Pollard was starting to show his potential and what he’s capable of. Now he’s the main guy with Elliott looking to find a team to play for along with win and contend for a Superbowl.
With Dalvin Cook, he wanted to be paid but with his injuries the past few seasons, it was hard for the Vikings to justify paying money on a running back who has a lot of mileage on him from college through the NFL. Now, he will be seeking a team to play for (watch Clutch Sports Talk with Ryan Flowers) as he talks about teams and Cook’s future in the NFL.
If you really think about it, the average running back’s lifespan is a good 5-7 years of dominance before the decline hits. Unless you’re an anomaly like former NFL great Adrian Peterson (he’s a rare exception and still had a decline himself). The average running back gets to the NFL at age 21. By the time they’re 26 or 27 years old, depending on how many games played, carries, yards, playoff runs, and the grandest one of them all “injuries,” they’re considered “old.”
In actuality they’re not “old” in years they’ve been alive but they’re “old” in NFL years. The wear and tear with knee, ankle and hamstring injuries (the most common injuries for NFL running backs), it’s a league of guys coming to take your place.
You look at Bijon Robinson, Devon Achane, Jahmyr Gibbs, as they’re the next men up in the league. This year’s draft was defense heavy and that’s what most of the picks were in the first round. The shift of the running back position is changing.
When you look at the young quarterbacks in the league, it’s becoming a pass dominant offensive slugfest most games. Allen, Mahmoes, Burrow, Herbert, they’re all 4,000 plus in pass yards every season. Every league goes through the changes and shifts, sometimes for the better, sometimes not (you determine that).
It’s why the New York Giants are trying to figure out how much they should pay their running back in Saquon Barkley. He’s already lost a year due to a knee injury and he’s heading into his 6th NFL season come August. He’s already 26 years old, how many more years of wear and tear does he have before he starts to decline?
Barkley had a great comeback season with 1,312 rushing yards, 10 touchdowns and led the team in receptions with 57 catches. There are different perspectives of this, great production in your comeback year but can you continue that with a history of ankle injuries and an ACL tear that kept you out the whole 2020 season?
Look at the Tennessee Titans, you think they aren’t questioning how long they will hold onto Derrick Henry? He’s dealing with his share of injuries and wear and tear of years in the league. It happens to the best running backs in the NFL. You start to understand why Barry Sanders retired early (granted his left on his own terms and for other reasons) but he got out in one piece and was still a solid running back.
Wherever Elliott and Cook land as far as a team, they must understand that they will have to take a lesser role. They will have to drop their egos and understand the offense will not revolve around them. Their carries will decline and they will have to do what it takes to win, not be about stats and trying to get a big contract. That will be a huge adjustment to their story as an NFL pro but it must be done. Now is the time to see how much they want to win and contend for a SuperBowl.
The reality is, running backs are replaceable in today’s NFL. Once the injuries happen, teams aren’t looking to fully invest in you. Quarterback-Wide Receiver tandems are becoming more important for general managers across the league now. Maybe running backs are becoming a dime a dozen in a pass driven league…
