Todd Gurley is no longer a member of the Los Angeles Rams. He will be joining the Atlanta Falcons per reports this morning on a one-year deal. Gurley got paid majorly for the running back position. He and Ezekiel Elliott reshaped the market for running backs. Or so we thought. Gurley had 45 million dollars left on his deal, and Los Angeles decided they would rather have dead cap then hold on to his deal. Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones is up for a new deal next season. Negotiations have already begun, and both parties would be wise to find a number that makes sense for them.

My guess is the Packers are going to dig their feet in. Russ Ball is a cap wizard. He got flack for being a sleeper cell agent during the Thompson-McCarthy years, but the guy is great at his job. There is no way Ball will deliver a contract where Jones is getting a significant amount of money plus there will be dead cap money. Reports were that the two sides were talking extension, and my assumption is Ball delivers a few numbers of what Green Bay is willing to pay Jones.

For Jones and every other above-average running back, this should be a wake-up call. I know they want to get paid like a quarterback or a wide receiver, but the facts are they’re not valued at a high degree. Everyone wants more money. No reason to shame running backs who want to get paid. But Jones and others need to understand that the market doesn’t exist for them as it did years ago. If I were an NFL running back, my two goals for a new deal would be… 1. Get 50 million to 60 million dollars. 2. Make sure at least 50% is guaranteed.

We shall see what happens with Packers and Jones. My assumption is the Packers running back saw that Gurley news and thought that is bad news for what I’m trying to accomplish.

Charlie.