No one is signing Running Backs

Rodgers speaks on psychaedelics, alt jerseys are killing it and Florio is giving Eagles fans ideas

Author

Andy Molitor
June 22, 2023

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Still absolutely no real action in the free agent running back market.

Lots of rumor tweets and people photoshopping other jerseys on the players they want on their team but for now Kareem Hunt, Ezekiel Elliot, and Dalvin Cook remain unsigned while Saquon Barkley continues to look for a new contract.

Many factors at play here, but it also just appears that they may just want too much money. Teams are beginning to really devalue the top-end, high-priced running back in today’s game. Brad Spielberger from PFF put together a nice chart today illustrating the stagnation in the top contract each year for RBs compared to other positions.

Maybe one of the absolute dumbest weeks of NFL news possible

The biggest thing to happen was probably the fact that Aaron Rodgers spoke at a psychedelics conference. Many were very sure that he wouldn’t be able to handle the scrutiny of the New York media, and maybe things are different once we get into the season but, I’m just not so sure he has any level of giving a damn about what other people think.

Didn’t think I’d be reading an article about an NFL quarterback that also mentioned Aldous Huxley, Richard Nixon, and AOC, but that’s where we’re at in the Rodgers cycle I guess.

Some absolute gems in the reading though:

None of it matters if the Jets’ offense takes the next step. New England hasn’t gotten the WR room figured out yet, Tua is a hard shot away from retirement and the Bills are currently in-fighting as they try to figure it out post-Daboll. I don’t hate the Jets as a fun story to this year.

Even though the Rodgers story was a bit unorthodox, something else will take the cake for “The dumbest thing I read today.” The source material was likely meant to come across as satire or some sort of wondering “what if?” out loud. Unfortunately, Mike Florio and PFT are a pretty big news source in the space, and when he says something like that it’s going to be treated closer to fact than fiction.

So now we have this:

Not a ton of good news to speak of I guess but, with the new helmet reveal I think we may be in for the best season ever for fun/nostalgic uniforms. Probably won’t have many opportunities for a style and fashion section once football’s underway, so getting this in while I can.

I’m seeing a few people folks complain about the “weird poorly-drawn Lion” on the Twitter today. Maybe just be thankful they didn’t use the one prior with the football player riding a lion. The matte Honululu blue is very clean though. Plus they haven’t won a playoff game since 1991, I’d try to mix it up a bit too.

(They are still the favorites to win the NFC North, something they’ve never done)

If Seattle doesn’t muck it up, their throwbacks should be 1000 times better than the drab “college navy” blue they currently feature. No official announcement on the exact look, but the assumption is the blue with green trim featured in the early years of the franchise. The old Seahawks Blues would for sure make me feel like they have a real shot at the AFC West again.

…and of course the prize jewel of old jerseys: the Creamsicle. A good way to distract the fan base while the semi-rebuild is on. Bucco Bruce and the orange tops will make their first appearance since 2012 this October vs the Lions.

Next Week: I’ll tackle futures bets I’m making on the Vikings, Packers, and Lions as well as a deep look into the Offensive Player of the Year betting market.

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