You can take the “running back” off of Jonathan Stewart’s job title, but you can’t take the running back out of Jonathan Stewart.
The Carolina Panthers’ all-time leading rusher, along with co-hosts Desmond Johnson and Schuyler Callihan, kicked off the new season of the “Bleav in Carolina Panthers” podcast on Tuesday. Among the topics covered was the troubling market for today’s running backs, whom Stewart stood in defense of.
“If I told you that a player had 295 carries, 1,300 yards, ten touchdowns for the New York Giants…probably the most rushing yards since Tiki Barber…and you told me that you didn’t want to pay this guy? Come on man,” he said. “What are we doing? It’s not just him. You got guys at the top of their position not getting paid, not getting worked out.
“Obviously I played running back and I understand what it takes to play that position and what your body goes through and how hard it is to stay on the field. I mean, these guys have been banged up, but they have also produced. When you have a healthy Josh Jacobs and you have a healthy Saquon Barkley on your team, you’re automatically better.”
Both Jacobs and Barkley are coming off stellar 2022 campaigns, in which the former led the entire league in rushing and the latter ran for a career-high 1,312 yards. But both—instead of being offered what they believe they’re worth on long-term commitments—were also slapped with the franchise tag this offseason.
As the game continues to become a more pass-heavy environment, running backs have seemingly become less and less valuable in the eyes of NFL decision makers. But Stewart isn’t buying it.
“If you have one of the best ball-carriers on the field, you need to make sure he’s paid. Period,” he added. “I’m tired of this whole narrative of you can just keep him for his rookie contract and then get rid of him. When you think about top players in the NFL all-time, running backs come up. So let’s treat these running backs like they should be treated and pay them.”
With the exception of the three backs who were designated with the $10.1 million franchise tag—Jacobs, Barkley and Tony Pollard—only five players at the position average more than $7 million per year on their current deals.
