Worth Keeping An Eye On

[JustinTime18™]

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/20...ssion=true

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MARLON MACKRB, INDIANAPOLIS COLTS

The Indianapolis Star's Jim Ayello reports the Colts are working on an extension for contract-year RB Marlon Mack.Mack is set to earn a little over $2 million in the final year of his rookie deal in 2020. Per Ayello, talks are expected to heat up later this month at the Combine. Mack turns 24 next month and is coming off his first 1,000-yard season as the offensive centerpiece in an Andrew Luck-less group. He posted a 247-1,091-8 line across 14 games. Mack will likely be looking for $8 million-plus per year.

SOURCE: Indianapolis Star

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• DERRICK HENRYRB, TENNESSEE TITANS

  Speaking in an interview last week, impending free agent Derrick Henry said Ezekiel Elliott's six-year, $90 million contract is "the floor" for what he will be seeking.Elliott's deal included $50 million guaranteed, with $28 million of that guaranteed at signing. Henry later said he misunderstood host Rich Eisen's question, but it's not exactly rocket science where his agent will start out in talks. Those are the kind of numbers a running back might get from an in-house extension, but it's been a long time since a runner broke the bank like that on the open market. Henry is one of the more fascinating free agent cases in recent memory.
  

  SOURCE: Rich Eisen on TwitterFeb 4, 2020, 2:47 PM ET

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  TODD GURLEYRB, LOS ANGELES RAMS

  ESPN Rams reporter Lindsey Thiry believes the team could attempt to trade Todd Gurley this offseason.Good luck. Gurley has four years left on his deal after inking a four-year, $57.5 million extension in July of 2018. The Rams would certainly like to have that one back. Gurley turns 25 before the season and carries a $17.25 million cap number with no real outs until 2021 at this time. In order to trade him, the Rams would likely have to sweeten the pot for the acquiring team with draft-pick compensation.
  

  SOURCE: ESPN.comFeb 5, 2020, 11:12 PM ET
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  DAVID JOHNSONRB, ARIZONA CARDINALS

  ESPN Cardinals reporter Josh Weinfuss believes the team could release David Johnson this offseason.The Cardinals will have to swallow a significant amount of money in order to make that happen, however. With the CBA expiring, there is no such thing as post-June 1 cuts as we stand here on February 5. Therefore, teams cannot push cap charges into the future. Releasing Johnson would create $18.3 million in dead money. Johnson turned 28 in December and dealt with various ailments this past season while also not fitting seamlessly into coach Kliff Kingsbury's system. There likely won't be a trade market for him.
  

  SOURCE: ESPN.com

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This list doesn't exactly argue for extending Cook. 49ers are an interesting case. They're still paying McKinnon $8.5M and Coleman about $5M. Yet their best backs this year were Mostert and Breida. 

[Guest]

Love Cook, but dollars wrapped up in a RB just doesn't make fiscal sense...

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Matthew Coller replied

Moo

@PFF_Moo

·6h

There are 3 categories of elite running backs

- Their teams are disappointed after the second season following their investment (Johnson, Gurley, Barkley)

- Their teams are disappointed after the first season (Zeke)

- Their teams are disappointed right after the signing (Bell)

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@"BarrNone55" said:

Matthew Coller replied

Moo

@PFF_Moo

·6h

There are 3 categories of elite running backs

- Their teams are disappointed after the second season following their investment (Johnson, Gurley, Barkley)

- Their teams are disappointed after the first season (Zeke)

- Their teams are disappointed right after the signing (Bell)

I don't know if I would include Zeke or Barkley on this list.  The Cowboys missed the playoffs, but it certainly wasn't Zeke's fault.  I mean he finished 4th in the NFL in rushing yards and scored 14 total TDs. 

Barkley missed some games with the ankle injury, but was very good when the team used him in the 2nd half of the season.  It seemed like the Giants were more interested in letting Daniel Jones throw it all over the yard and they didn't start winning until they made Barkley more of a focal point in the offense.

The rest I would agree with...

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Running backs are overvalued and these articles are becoming more and more prevalent.
https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/titan...reer-year/

[Guest]

Henry nearly pulled off the... all you need is a stud running back and a defense trick.
I still can't see wrapping that much cap into a RB though.