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Adam Schefter, ESPN Senior Author
Josh Jacobs, Saquon Barkley and Tony Pollard are all anticipated to develop into free brokers in what guarantees to be a star-studded working again market, sources advised ESPN on Monday.
The Las Vegas Raiders will try to re-sign Jacobs, however they aren’t anticipated to tag him, league sources advised ESPN, particularly together with his franchise tag costing $14,149,200.
The New York Giants will converse with Barkley and discover a cope with him, however they’re additionally unlikely to tag him for $12,109,200, sources advised ESPN.
The Dallas Cowboys should not anticipated to make use of the identical $12,109,200 tag for Pollard, sources advised ESPN.
The Tennessee Titans will not tag standout veteran Derrick Henry, and the Los Angeles Chargers are also anticipated to let Austin Ekeler discover free company, league sources advised ESPN.
Different working backs scheduled to hit free company subsequent month embody D’Andre Swift, AJ Dillon, Devin Singletary, Zack Moss, J.K. Dobbins, Gus Edwards, Ezekiel Elliott, and Clyde Edwards-Helaire.
All of this units up an offseason that now stands in direct distinction to 2023, when three working backs — Jacobs, Barkley and Pollard — every obtained the restrictive franchise tags. This offseason, it seems no working backs can be tagged, making this one of many best and deepest working again lessons within the historical past of free company, if not one of the best and most completed of all time.
Whereas the glut of working backs can be good for groups, it won’t be nice for all of the backs. Free company is about provide and demand, and the provision on the place this offseason is unprecedented and will contribute to preserving down the costs in free company, although the highest stars nonetheless may land hefty paydays.
The NFL on Friday introduced that its salary cap for the 2024 season will be a record $255.4 million per team — a surprising 13.6% enhance over final 12 months’s cap. That quantities to $30.6 million extra per staff than final 12 months’s $224.8 million.
The working again market has been a difficult one lately. Jonathan Taylor turned the primary working again since 2021 to signal a long-term contract price at the least $10 million per 12 months when he agreed to a three-year, $42 million extension with the Indianapolis Colts final October.
This offseason, it could be a feat for one — or some — of those backs to command what their franchise tag quantity could be. Jacobs’ franchise tag is greater than the traditional working again tag as a result of he had additional assured cash added to his adjusted deal final summer season. Barkley had incentives added to his deal, however didn’t hit any of them.
