Should Bijan Robinson, Jahmyr Gibbs contracts blow up the running back market?
As the saying goes, the market is the market. But what is the market?
It's an important question as it relates to Falcons running back Bijan Robinson and Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs, as they hold-in (wisely) pending new contracts.
The running back market is currently led by Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, with a new-money APY of $20.6 million. The prevailing view would be that Barkley's deal becomes the bar that Robinson and Gibbs should be trying to nudge a little bit higher.
The other side of it is that they should be blowing the whole thing up.
The receiver market is north of $42 million. Who would you rather have on your favorite team? Robinson or Gibbs - or Seahawk receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the current highest-paid receiver in the NFL?
How about Robinson/Gibbs or Bengals receiver Ja'Marr Chase, who pushed the receiver number to $40 million last year?
The question, however it's resolved, is far closer than the gap between what Smith-Njigba/Chase are making and where the top of the running back market currently resides.
That's not to say all veteran running backs should be making considerably more, even if they should. The best running backs touch the ball more often than the best receivers. The best running backs present defenses with a player who constantly needs to be tracked, wherever they go and whatever they do. The best running backs open up the entire offense.
But they also present a much greater risk of injury, given the traffic of large torsos and limbs around and through which they constantly run. They are, at any given time, one play away from not being able to play for the rest of the season. The teams don't want to tie up that much cap and cap space in such hazards.
For now, the question focuses on Robinson and Gibbs. Should it be a matter of getting them to $21 million or $22 million per year, or should they be north of $25 million?
If Robinson or Gibbs were currently available to any team, wouldn't they get at least $25 million per year?
That's likely the biggest issue the Falcons and Lions are facing. In Atlanta, former head coach Raheem Morris repeatedly said last year that Robinson is the best player in the league. In Detroit, the Lions have reconfigured the roster to make Gibbs the workhorse.
They're still young; both are 24. They're in their primes, with plenty of tread on the tires. This is the time for them to get as much as they can. And it's easy to argue that they should get something closer to what the best receivers get than where the top of the running back market currently sits.