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Running backs are hot items on the market
By Pat Kirwan
NFL.com Senior Analyst
(March 6, 2007)
Every year, a position or two jumps out quickly as the early pacesetters in the free agency/trade market, and this year running back is in the lead. Whether it was the running backs at the Senior Bowl or that Louisville's Michael Bush is coming off an injury, it doesn't appear that many clubs are going to wait around until the draft to get a back.
Trace the early action and it is easy to see that many franchises are thinking the same when it comes to a ball carrier.
The Lions traded for Tatum Bell to pair up with the injured Kevin Jones.
The Broncos quickly signed Travis Henry from the Titans soon after they shipped Bell to Detroit -- what happened to the old Denver way of finding great runners late in the draft?
The Texans signed 30-year-old Ahman Green -- what happened to the idea of getting young at the running back spot?
Thomas Jones winds up as a Jet and New York still has four picks in the first three rounds. Early March has had a lot of action for the running backs.
Rumors are that Ladell Betts of the Redskins could be had in a trade. He was nothing short of brilliant when he came off the bench last year for the injured Clinton Portis. Betts has a new contract, which would be appealing to a new club.
Willis McGahee up in Buffalo could be a holdout if he doesn't get a new deal and might be a possibility in a trade, but this may be a bad year to try and play the leverage game for any running back because the talent pool is still fairly impressive before we even get to the draft.
Quality backs like Corey Dillon can still be had in free agency.
Free agents still on the street that can be acquired for money and no draft compensation include: Dominic Rhodes, who had a brilliant performance in the Super Bowl; Jamal Lewis, who has been the Ravens' workhorse for years and got released because of a $5 million dollar roster bonus that was due; Corey Dillon, who can still pound the ball; and Correll Buckhalter, who proved he could stay healthy in Philadelphia this past season. And, for a lot fewer dollars, a team could add Chris Brown, the former Titan, as a complementary runner to a starting back.
Those are a number of options, and as time goes on and the draft gets closer, the price will come down. As Ahman Green said to me, "I was glad to get my deal done early."
As soon as April gets here, the running back conversations will turn to draft prospects like Adrian Peterson, Marshawn Lynch, Michael Bush, Tony Hunt, Kenny Irons, Lorenzo Booker and Brian Leonard. With teams like the Texans, Jets and Broncos already resolving their running back situations, some very good backs in the draft are going to drop and are going to be tremendous values in the second and third rounds.
The money investment in those rounds is going to put more pressure on the free-agent backs and lessen the compensation a team would give in a trade for a back.
Green Bay, Cleveland, Baltimore, the New York Giants, Tennessee, Oakland and Pittsburgh, among others, have to be thrilled at the possibilities to fill their running back needs now that the market is coming to them.
If Thomas Jones can be traded for a swap of second-round picks after a season with 1,364 total yards, you can get a bargain in this market very shortly.
comment woodbuck27:
Let's not give up hope that Ted Thompson will come through.
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