Free agent running back Le’Veon Bell is going to bat for his fellow running backs as the controversy surrounding the value of the position lends itself to daily social media dialogue.
But while trying to put his two cents in and defend Saquon Barkley, the always outspoken Bell blasted Barkley’s high-priced QB Daniel Jones.
The biggest issue in football right now is running backs and their compensation. The elite running backs are being criminally underpaid and by some accounts, overworked, and NFL teams are fighting tooth and nail to set a new standard of compensation for the position.
Star Running Backs Getting Devalued By Teams
Contention between star running backs and their front offices has been rampant of late. The Los Angeles Chargers’ Austin Ekler and Las Vegas Raiders’ Josh Jacobs are both in the middle of contract disputes. Indianapolis Colts perennial MPV candidate Jonathan Taylor, recently requested a trade from the Colts that owner Jim Irsay claims he will not honor.
And finally, New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley just signed a deal that most agree is well below his market value as an NFL player.
Considering the fact that he’s twice the player his high-paid QB is, Barkley’s is the most interesting case because last week he signed a one-year deal with the Giants to remain there and try to garner a long-term contract next season.
But the contract Barkley got isn’t worth even one of Barkley’s famous quadriceps.
QB Daniel Jones Gets More For Way Less Talent
Though Saquon is back at training camp with his $11 million contract that he reluctantly signed, his signal-calling counterpart, Jones, has been happy at training camp with his four-year, $160 million contract making $40 million a year.
But what has pissed Bell off so much about those payouts is that the Giants lowballed their most productive player, who had over 1,000 yards and made his third Pro Bowl, while they paid top dollar for mediocrity at the quarterback position.
But Bell’s exact words weren’t minced when he went on the “AP Pro Football Podcast” with Rob Maaddi.
The Bell Tolls
Yardbarker quoted Bell as saying, “There are average quarterbacks. He’s in the bottom tier,” Bell said. “I’m not here trying to talk bad about Daniel Jones. I’m just trying to be real for everybody who’s hearing it. He’s in the bottom tiers.”
Daniel Jones’s contract situation was different, even though he isn’t a top-tier quarterback. There reportedly weren’t any viable replacement options on the market this past offseason, that the Giants were interested in bringing in. Especially after Jones showed marked improvement in several areas of his game.
Naturally, the Giants wanted to lock Jones in for long-term security, and hope that he becomes the next Eli Manning.
Teams often overpay for quarterbacks. As that business approach trends upwards, the running game takes a hit, because teams simply throw much more now.
Bell, who once fumbled a bag himself when he was with the Pittsburgh Steelers and ended up settling for much less with the Jets, is accurate that Barkley, regardless of position, is invaluable to the Giants’ playoff hopes and without him, Jones will get severely exposed.
Jones will deal with this kind of criticism all season, especially if Barkley performs to his All-Pro level and Jones fails to rise among the top tier quarterbacks in the league.
