The running back position today is not as valuable as it once was back in the heyday of the NFL. With both a hard salary cap and a rookie salary cap, teams, especially the Buffalo Bills, have finally started to realize that they don’t have to pay running backs a massive second contract.
What teams do now is they either trade them to another team to take chunks off their salary or release them and draft a new rookie from college in their replacement.
Buffalo Bills 2022 Running backs
Take the Buffalo Bills, for example; at the end of the 2022 season, they had Devin Singletary, James Cook, and Nyheim Hines as their three backs on the roster. The Bills could have resigned Singletary to a huge contract if they wanted, but GM Brandon Beane knew that Cook could replace Singletary as their number-one back on his rookie deal.
Bills RB James Cook (28) – Timothy T. Ludwig/Getty Images
2023 and Beyond
Fast forward to 2023. The Buffalo Bills currently have James Cook, Damien Harris, and Latavius Murray. Now, would a guy like Murray have even been a consideration had the Bills signed Singletary? No, and here’s why.
The Buffalo Bills, like most teams in the NFL today, value winning but also drafting and developing young players at every position. They also want to stay below the salary cap, so that means having to get rid of some big names at key positions like running back.
Bills RB Damien Harris (22) – Daniel Bartel/USA TODAY Sports
What These Running Backs Bring to the Team
To start, Cook is listed at a solid 5’11, 190 lbs., but he looks and plays bigger in his uniform. He has incredible speed and can make catches out of the backfield like an extra wide receiver. He even can run a mini-go route like Tyreek Hill famously did for the Kansas City Chiefs and still does so with the Miami Dolphins.
Next, you have the do-it-all power back in Harris. While at Alabama and New England, Harris was instrumental in running the ball in between the tackles and grinding out yardage and clock at the same time. He also has a quick burst for his size at 5’11”, 214 lbs. as he ran for a 64-yard touchdown against the Buffalo Bills on MNF back on Dec 6, 2021.
Last, we have the ageless veteran in Murray. The 33-year-old runner is still a powerful back who can run in between the tackles, and for a 6’3″, 230 lb. bruiser, he still has that agility, too. He is still young and spry enough to succeed in a now more youthful and faster NFL.
Bills RB Latavius Murray (28) – Gregory Fisher/USA TODAY Sports
Initial and Second Contracts
It’s not that the initial rookie contract causes the salary cap problems certain teams end up having; it’s when you get to the second guarantee contract that you really don’t need to spend on a player whose position isn’t as valuable anymore.
This is why players like Saquon Barkley and Josh Jacobs decided to do the smart thing and take a small one-year deal contract to be able to play this year instead of holding out for the whole season waiting for a new contract.
Back to the Buffalo Bills case. They knew that they could have potentially done damage to the team’s salary cap as they were already over the cap and had just released (LB) Tremaine Edmunds in Free Agency. Now, they could have used this money to resign Singletary, but this would have put the Bills back into salary cap trouble again.
Now that they shed off Singletary’s salary, the Bills have their new number-one man in Cook. They can now rotate their running backs by going two or possibly three backs deep in one game.
Reactions at Buffalo Bills Games
This year, when Buffalo Bills fans go to games and watch what the Bills plan to do at the running back position, they will most likely be impressed.
They will enjoy the speed and receiving ability of Cook, as well as the strength and power Harris possesses, along with the maturity and veteran leadership Murray adds to the running back room.
The fans will also be leaving the game very happy that they didn’t pay Singletary that huge second contract.
