It’s not a good time to be a running back right now. It’s the only position in the league that has seen its overall market value decline in the last several years, with the franchise tag for running backs decreasing from $12.12 million in 2017 to $10.09 million this year.
Melvin Gordon pointed some of the blame at Sean McVay and the Rams for giving Todd Gurley a massive contract in 2018, only to ride C.J. Anderson to the Super Bowl that same season after Gurley’s knee wore down.
That’s not an indication of how McVay values the position, however. He still finds running backs to be very valuable on offense, as evidenced by the way the Rams rode Gurley in McVay’s first two seasons.
“It’s not by mistake that we were as successful as we were with Todd leading the way,” McVay said on “The Pivot” podcast recently. “And that contract was reflective of exactly how we felt because everything started with him. He was able to be the catalyst and then Jared was obviously excellent in those years and then the surrounding parts. I think it’s incredibly valuable. What I think is hard to really get a gauge for is over the long term, how sustainable because of the pounding that these backs take?”
During that same interview, McVay shared his thoughts on the battle that running backs are facing. They’re still putting up big numbers, which is why the Raiders, Cowboys and Giants all tagged their stud running backs, but teams aren’t willing to give them lucrative, long-term deals out of fear that they’ll wear down – similar to the way Gurley did.
McVay feels bad for running backs because of the way they aren’t being rewarded for their production on the field.
“I don’t know if there’s a model in terms of saying, ‘All right, well, how do we project this over the long haul for the sustainability?’ But I think the world of those running backs that you’re mentioning,” he said. “I don’t think that any coach would disagree that those guys influence the outcome of a game in a significant fashion. And so much of it is comp-based. When you start talking about it, it’s like, who’s gonna be able to make that first move? And because that’s kind of been the narrative on that position – and I feel terrible because these guys are trying to figure out, ‘Hey, what more can I do to get the rewards that I’m deserving of?’ And usually it takes, who’s that first person to make that move?”
As much as McVay values running backs, and as badly as he wants to see them earn big contracts like players at other positions do, he doesn’t have a solution for this problem. Like so many others, he just doesn’t know how to fix the issue.
“I wish I had a better answer for those guys. I do know this: When we’ve been at our best, it’s been because we’ve had running backs that have been doing a great job,” McVay said. “I think what makes it challenging, too, is you get guys that come out of nowhere and have great production. But the guys that do it over the longer period of time like Fred (Taylor) was able to do, and we felt like that’s what Todd was doing, those guys get rewarded. But then there’s always those cautionary tales where people get scared of the pounding, how long can they sustain this, how much can they be that focal point? I feel bad about that for those guys but it seems like that’s kind of where it’s at right now.”
The Rams will have a decision of their own to make next offseason when Cam Akers becomes a free agent. He’ll be a restricted free agent, so they can tender him to keep him on the roster in 2024, but the level that they tender him at – if they do at all – will tell us a lot about how they view his value.
What we do know is McVay will continue to draft running backs just about every year; he’s added Akers, Darrell Henderson Jr., Kyren Williams, Zach Evans and traded for Sony Michel in the last several years. And let’s not forget: He and the Rams tried to acquire Christian McCaffrey from the Panthers last year.
This is a team that loves having a stud running back on offense.
