Worth Keeping An Eye On

• 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

• 

  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
• 

  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

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. 

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

@"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)

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...

Running backs are overvalued and these articles are becoming more and more prevalent.
https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/titans-must-heed-warning-signs-and-avoid-paying-derrick-henry-after-a-career-year/

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.

@"suncoastvike" said: 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.

I'm getting more and more jaded on paying RB's and WR's.  Tying up so much salary in these positions leave scraps for the most valuable...IMHO...positions, the O & D lines.  No disrespect intended to these fine athletes, but they are easier to replace every April and their development curve is faster.

As much as I enjoy watching Cook when he is healthy, it just does not seem to make sense to pay him top of the market $ when we are going to run Kubiaks system which has shown to make average talent at RB look outstanding and productive.   I would rather invest the money in the Oline to help Cousins and open holes for whoever our RBs May be.   Look at what the Niners did with Mostert, Coleman, Breida  etc.

@"Magnus10" said: As much as I enjoy watching Cook when he is healthy, it just does not seem to make sense to pay him top of the market $ when we are going to run Kubiaks system which has shown to make average talent at RB look outstanding and productive.   I would rather invest the money in the Oline to help Cousins and open holes for whoever our RBs May be.   Look at what the Niners did with Mostert, Coleman, Breida  etc.

@"BarrNone55" said:

DAVID JOHNSONRB, ARIZONA CARDINALS

Speaking Friday morning on 98.7 Arizona Sports, Cardinals GM Steve Keim said cutting David Johnson is "not an option."Keim added that "you can't have just one back." The long-time Cardinals workhorse was essentially benched last season, fighting for scraps down the stretch behind trade acquisition Kenyan Drake. While Drake is headed for free agency, there appears to be mutual interest in a reunion. The reality is Johnson's exorbitant salary in 2020 makes him near impossible to release (it would leave behind a whopping $16.2 million in dead money) and similarly difficult to trade. Slowed by injuries and ineffectiveness, the declining 28-year-old has slumped to a pedestrian 3.6 yards per carry since breaking out for a career-best 20 touchdowns in 2016.

SOURCE: Darren Urban on Twitter

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2020/02/14/arthur-blank-i-love-devonta-freeman-but-we-have-to-build-a-roster/

@"JimmyinSD" said:

@"BarrNone55" said:

DAVID JOHNSONRB, ARIZONA CARDINALS

Speaking Friday morning on 98.7 Arizona Sports, Cardinals GM Steve Keim said cutting David Johnson is "not an option."Keim added that "you can't have just one back." The long-time Cardinals workhorse was essentially benched last season, fighting for scraps down the stretch behind trade acquisition Kenyan Drake. While Drake is headed for free agency, there appears to be mutual interest in a reunion. The reality is Johnson's exorbitant salary in 2020 makes him near impossible to release (it would leave behind a whopping $16.2 million in dead money) and similarly difficult to trade. Slowed by injuries and ineffectiveness, the declining 28-year-old has slumped to a pedestrian 3.6 yards per carry since breaking out for a career-best 20 touchdowns in 2016.

SOURCE: Darren Urban on Twitter

I cant help but think we will be reading the same story about the Vikings in a year or two if the team commits to Cook with a big money deal.