The Baltimore Ravens selected running back J.K. Dobbins in the second round of the 2020 NFL draft, and have seen him flourish on the field when healthy. However, he’s played in just 23 games in three NFL season, and now enters a contract year in 2023 in which he has plenty to prove.
When predicting the next contracts for some of the top running backs around the league, Gary Davenport of Bleacher Report provided modest numbers for Dobbins with a three-year, $17.8 million contract, $10 million of which would be guaranteed. Davenport said that the best case-scenario for the former Ohio State star is that he has a career year in 2023 that nets him a new contract with another team.
“The thing is, unless Dobbins takes a team-friendly deal or explodes for 1,500-plus yards in 2023 and inspires the team to tag him, his chances of staying in Baltimore aren’t good. After paying Lamar Jackson, the Ravens have to save money somewhere—and as we’re seeing time and again, teams are doing so at running back…That leaves Dobbins’ best-case as a career year that nets him a deal with a new team…And even then, the four-year, $25.4 million deal Miles Sanders got from Carolina is probably closer to Dobbins’ ceiling than his floor.”
