Eagles reset RB market, extend Barkley.

[finn]

1 hour ago, Magox said:

I made this case multiple times that Running backs are undervalued and you will see those valuations increased.  Many disagreed.

 

They were wrong.

 

 

Their valuations ticking up is one thing (led by a few headline anomalies like this one), their going way up is another. Very good running backs are too common and their shelf life is too short for the position to go the way of wide receivers. But I agree they'll be getting a significant bump. 

[Cray51]

1 hour ago, appoo said:

Bills can't have a 45M-50M QB and a 15M RB. That's just reality. If it came down to it. I'd rather trade cook for a 2nd or late 1st, resign Ty Johnson, and draft a 4th/5th round RB and start Davis. 

 

And then use all them high draft picks to reinvigorate the talent on D

They absolutely can, as long as they take hits in other areas.  They are under the averages on their o-line, and if they continue to develop well there, it will be the area they stay lean to be able to sign someone like Cook.

[BruceVilanch]

1 hour ago, QCity said:

That is not "resetting" the RB market 😂

[Magox]

Just now, finn said:

Their valuations ticking up is one thing (led by a few headline anomalies like this one), their going way up is another. Very good running backs are too common and their shelf life is too short for the position to go the way of wide receivers. But I agree they'll be getting a significant bump. 

There is a caveat with this deal, Saquon was already signed for 2025 and 2026, so his two year extension in theory doesn’t begin until 2027 and will cover 2028.

 

So it’s not as if his $20.6m AAV begins now in 2025.   So it’s not quite as high as it appears when you factor in the anticipated rate of inflation in the cap.

[Doc Brown]

1 hour ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

 

He tore his ACL signing the contract.

[NewEra]

1 hour ago, appoo said:

This is Cook's first eligible extension year, but he's got a year left before the franchise tag comes into play

 

My guess is if Cook doesn't get an extension he holds out

Yeah I know. Just more alluding to Beane not really screwing anyone over using the tag before.  
 

i agree, I don’t think a deal gets done and he holds outs. But will he then use the tag and hold him hostage another year?  

[Magox]

Just now, NewEra said:

Yeah I know. Just more alluding to Beane not really screwing anyone over using the tag before.  
 

i agree, I don’t think a deal gets done and he holds outs. But will he then use the tag and hold him hostage another year?  

You mean for 2026?

[HOUSE]

1 hour ago, Magox said:

I made this case multiple times that Running backs are undervalued and you will see those valuations increased.  Many disagreed.

 

They were wrong.

 

 

We are never wrong

[Brand J]

Once defenses started building to stop the pass and starting quality WRs became plentiful in the draft, I knew the value of RBs was due to increase. In NO WORLD was Justin Jefferson worth $35M/yr versus Saquon Barkley at $13M/yr, that was just ridiculous. And even more a slap in the face contractually considering Barkley just won OPOTY and was in the mix for NFL MVP.
 

It’s a passing league, so I get that a WR will have slightly more value to an offense (say if Barkley and Jefferson were on the same team), but the contracts for the two positions had long been out of whack. Cook was the second best player on our offense this year, more valuable than Shakir, but we all (rightly) thought that Shakir at $15M/yr was great value while Cook at the same amount was absurd. Thinking that way was absurd, but it was made absurd due to the low money given to RBs.
 

Next up the WR contracts should come back down to earth a bit. If I was a GM, I’m not paying the position more than $30M/yr, I don’t care who it is. They’re still well overvalued considering how defenses now play the pass and the number of good to great WRs that exist in the league.

[Doc Brown]

45 minutes ago, Florida Bills Fanatic said:

Go back and look at where guys like Cook have gone in prior drafts.  Bad o-line play and bad offensive coaches have doomed runners with equivalent skills.  How good do think Cook would be with a bad o-line?  Etienne in Jacksonville is a good recent example.

Even Barkley only averaged 3.9ypc behind the Giants o-line in '23.  I don't think the off-season training made him a better RB to where he shot up to 5.8ypc.  

[Low Positive]

3 minutes ago, NewEra said:

Yeah I know. Just more alluding to Beane not really screwing anyone over using the tag before.  
 

i agree, I don’t think a deal gets done and he holds outs. But will he then use the tag and hold him hostage another year?  

I doubt it. The tag is not often applied because it creates a negative reputation amongst the players league-wide. Barkley got tagged in 2023 and was so mad about it that he refused to bring his Eagles offer back to the Giants to match. 

 

This year, only two players have been tagged (and the deadline is in 10 minutes) and Trey Smith got the "non-exclusive" tag. Tee Higgins is the only player to get the exclusive in the entire NFL. It's really a raw deal for Tee but he doesn't seem likely to hold out and punish Cincinnati for doing this. 

[Doc Brown]

6 minutes ago, NewEra said:

Yeah I know. Just more alluding to Beane not really screwing anyone over using the tag before.  
 

i agree, I don’t think a deal gets done and he holds outs. But will he then use the tag and hold him hostage another year?  

There's no way Beane would franchise tag a RB and pay him that much money for one season.  I think he plays out this year and then will be able to hit free agency.  I don't know if you can add incentives on the final year of a rookie contract but if you can it might avoid a messy holdout.

[DaBillsFanSince1973]

so...they're no longer a dime a dozen

[GASabresIUFan]

10 minutes ago, Magox said:

You are stuck in the old way of thinking.  Teams are running more than they have in a long time and almost all the top offenses are run heavy teams.  

People seem to be forgetting that with the exception of KC, almost all the playoff teams featured very balanced offenses.  

 

 

 

[MJS]

21 minutes ago, Magox said:

You are stuck in the old way of thinking.  Teams are running more than they have in a long time and almost all the top offenses are run heavy teams.  

No, the old ways is paying running backs.

[Low Positive]

1 minute ago, DaBillsFanSince1973 said:

so...they're no longer a dime a dozen

I'm not sure anybody really thought that. The problem with RBs is that they tend to fall off really quickly. Look at Dalvin Cook. He was one of the best RBs in the NFL three years ago and now he's out of the league. Jonathan Taylor has also really fallen off since being paid. Barkley was great this year, but his history tells us that he's due to miss half of next year with injury. Same case with Derrick Henry. It's a physically demanding position that relies almost entirely on athleticism. The shelf life is short so long-term deals are a huge risk.  

[JakeFrommStateFarm]

Its time to pay Cook his money.

 

Josh Allen has approved !!

[Magox]

8 minutes ago, GASabresIUFan said:

People seem to be forgetting that with the exception of KC, almost all the playoff teams featured very balanced offenses.  

 

 

 

 

People can either deny facts or accept them and the fact is that teams are running the ball a lot more than they have and the top teams are running more than the rest of the league.    It was just a matter of time before the cycle would reverse.   

[Big Turk]

1 hour ago, QCity said:

That is not "resetting" the RB market 😂

 

That's destroying the RB market...Cook is likely as good as gone now since he can easily argue he is worth $15 mil if Barkley is worth $20+ mil

 

[HOUSE]

5 minutes ago, JakeFrommStateFarm said:

Its time to pay Cook his money.

 

Josh Allen has approved !!

But the clock is reset