Cautionary tale on RBs

[WindyCitySteel]

Clock is ticking on Najee. Do they waste his short career in Pittsburgh on mediocre QBs or projects, or swing for the fences?


https://twitter.com/SharpFootball/status/1500917659290030081?s=20&t=MdtuAMxMPwlLmWaU8fwCdQ


all the record-setting RB deals that were signed in 2019 & 2020 are finally set to explode in cap hit in 20222021 cap hits: $6.9M - Christian McCaffrey $6.8M - Ezekiel Elliott $5.0M - Alvin Kamara2022 cap hits:$18.2M - Elliott$14.5M - Kamara$14.3M - McCaffrey

[papillon]

Well, we still have him on his rookie deal for a few more years before they have to make that decision, a lot can happen between now and then. I think they just hold tight and let things play out, then make decisions in a couple years. There is so much more to worry about in the short term, RB doesn't need to be one of them...yet.

Pappy

[feltdizz]

We don’t need to worry about that right now.

While these numbers look ugly for these players its a numbers game. You have to pay the playmakers and the goal is to get as much out of them before that huge cap hit hurts you.

But how is this any different than a LB, OL, DL etc on a nice contract. Once that cap hit balloons and you aren’t winning SB’s what is the end game?

Kamara should be fine.
Elliot is probably in his last year before they move on.

McCaffrey is the one that looks the worst. Be has missed 75% of games since he signed that huge contract. The one who some said “deserved it” because he didn’t complain or use social media has missed the most games and been the biggest disappointment. Fans are ready to move on down here because he can’t stay healthy. I think he put on too much muscle.

[WindyCitySteel]

Well, we still have him on his rookie deal for a few more years before they have to make that decision, a lot can happen between now and then. I think they just hold tight and let things play out, then make decisions in a couple years. There is so much more to worry about in the short term, RB doesn't need to be one of them...yet.

Pappy

Don't have to worry about RB, but rather winning now while he's in his short prime.

[Northern_Blitz]

The nice thing about a 1st round RB is that you can put the 5th year option on him before tagging him twice. We couldn't do that with Bell because he was a 2nd round guy.

I think the odds that a RB is worth a premier contract after their 7th year are low.

[WindyCitySteel]

The nice thing about a 1st round RB is that you can put the 5th year option on him before tagging him twice. We couldn't do that with Bell because he was a 2nd round guy.

I think the odds that a RB is worth a premier contract after their 7th year are low.

Sure, we could keep him from a big deal for 7 years, but I don't think he'll hold up nearly that long. And chances are if we try, he'll go down Bell's route and force his way out.

[feltdizz]

Sure, we could keep him from a big deal for 7 years, but I don't think he'll hold up nearly that long. And chances are if we try, he'll go down Bell's route and force his way out.

or we can sign him to a reasonable deal and avoid a dispute and deal with what happen just like we do with any other position when they get injured or start to decline.

It crazy how the media always points to a RB’s cap hit as the reason a team is in a bind when they usually have 3 or 4 other players who take up a larger percentage of their cap space.

Elliot: 8.59% of cap space
Kamara: 7%
McCaffery: 6.7%
Henry: 7%

If he performs well I would prefer a second contract after the 4th year that gives us a year or 2 of cap savings and then we take a hit for a year before we move on from him if his play severely declines in that 7th year.

I think its bad business to not reward a player if they are doing a ton of heavy lifting.

I think a Derrick Henry type contract is ideal if he continues doing what we expect him to do.

[Buzz]

The way he's been used so far, chances are good Harris is used up before the end of his rookie contract. Hope he can buck the odds

[SteelerOfDeVille]

I think the team needs to find a second option to spell him so he ISN'T overused... a guy like Chase Edmonds would be very worth a look this offseason - he'd eliminate the need for any of the other RBs...

[feltdizz]

I think the team needs to find a second option to spell him so he ISN'T overused... a guy like Chase Edmonds would be very worth a look this offseason - he'd eliminate the need for any of the other RBs...

Doesn’t matter who we have as the 2nd RB.

Someone already posted a stat that elite RB’s don’t get injured less often if they carry the ball less.

We ride Najee until we can’t anymore.

[WindyCitySteel]

Doesn’t matter who we have as the 2nd RB.

Someone already posted a stat that elite RB’s don’t get injured less often if they carry the ball less.

We ride Najee until we can’t anymore.

Effectiveness wanes the more you heap on their shoulders.


https://rotoheat.com/the-curse-of-400-touches-christian-mccaffrey-edition/

[Northern_Blitz]

Sure, we could keep him from a big deal for 7 years, but I don't think he'll hold up nearly that long. And chances are if we try, he'll go down Bell's route and force his way out.

I also doubt that a RB is super-productive that long. So probably 1 tag would be enough (if even that).

Maybe he tries to do what Bell did. But I think taking that path was hard before. And that it's probably harder now after seeing how much it hurt Bell's bottom line.

[SteelerOfDeVille]

Doesn’t matter who we have as the 2nd RB.

Someone already posted a stat that elite RB’s don’t get injured less often if they carry the ball less.

We ride Najee until we can’t anymore.
They sure age faster though...
Moreover, I'm interested in a backup for when he *does* get hurt - like he did this last year and we didn't have a reliable backup to fill in. There is nothing wrong with having a Conner backing up Bell, for when ya do use him up

[Northern_Blitz]

They sure age faster though...
Moreover, I'm interested in a backup for when he *does* get hurt - like he did this last year and we didn't have a reliable backup to fill in. There is nothing wrong with having a Conner backing up Bell, for when ya do use him up

With the way we use RBs, I don't think any good RB2 is going to come here via UFA.

So I think we have to draft a guy or pick up a UDFA.

Maybe a scrapheap RB that no one else wants. But those guys probably want to go to a place where they'll get carries so they can elevate their value. And that won't happen here without an injury to RB1.

[feltdizz]

They sure age faster though...
Moreover, I'm interested in a backup for when he *does* get hurt - like he did this last year and we didn't have a reliable backup to fill in. There is nothing wrong with having a Conner backing up Bell, for when ya do use him up

Benny Snail was our back up last year.

The problem wasn’t being reliable. It was running behind our OL against the Ravens.

More evidence that our OL didn’t actually improve without Green when we played teams who were playing for something.

[flippy]

With the way we use RBs, I don't think any good RB2 is going to come here via UFA.

So I think we have to draft a guy or pick up a UDFA.

Maybe a scrapheap RB that no one else wants. But those guys probably want to go to a place where they'll get carries so they can elevate their value. And that won't happen here without an injury to RB1.

Someone should have some insight into Duke Johnson. We’ve seen him in Cleveland and then he started a few games last year in Miami and looked ok.

I suspect he’s probably close to a minimum deal and he’s a decent runner and receiver out of the backfield.