Raiders running back Josh Jacobs breathed a little life into the running back market on Saturday. What does that mean for the other big-name running back who is trying to turn things around for himself and presumably other tailbacks?
Colts running back Jonathan Taylor is still operating under a non-binding deadline of Tuesday for working out a trade that will be acceptable to the Colts. The Dolphins continue to be the team most prominently linked to Taylor.
There has been speculation that Taylor will do a below-market deal in order to get out of Indy. To understand the extent to which he would be going below the market, it’s important to know where the market is.
Christian McCaffrey continues to be the highest-paid running back, via his $16 million per year deal negotiated in early 2020 with Carolina. (The 49ers, we’re told, view it at $12 million, because that was the value of the contract they inherited.)
Jacobs, thanks to the bump in his franchise tag, could now get $25.96 million over two years under the tag — an average of nearly $13 million. That’s a major bump over the $10.1 million franchise tender, and more than twice the best deal that was secured on the open market this year: Miles Sanders from the Panthers, at $6.3 million per year.
Ultimately, what Taylor wants and what he can get are all that matter. The Jacobs deal gives Taylor a plausible, fact-based argument to push for a little more. The market is a little better for running backs today than it was yesterday. Taylor’s contract will be the next data point in the progression.
Which way will it go? Up or down or stagnant? It all comes down to whether a deal can be negotiated in the next two days, if the Colts intend to hold to the soft deadline of August 29.