On Monday, all the attention in the NFL was focused on whether some of the league’s best running backs would ink new contracts with their respective teams.
The deadline for franchise-tagged players to sign long-term deals was 4 p.m. ET, and it came and went with three elite running backs having to settle for playing under the $10 million franchise tag next season.
The Las Vegas Raiders, Dallas Cowboys, and New York Giants all decided not to agree to terms on new deals for their star running backs, which makes for a concerning situation for the position.
Unlike Saquon Barkley and Josh Jacobs, Tony Pollard signed his franchise tag, so he’ll be required to show up for training camp, or he will be fined since he’s under contract.
However, the plot thickens when it comes to Barkley and Jacobs, who refused to sign their franchise tags and, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, can skip training camp without being fined because they are not technically under contract.
Saquon Barkley and Josh Jacobs still have not signed their $10.091 million franchise tag tenders yet, so they can skip all of training camp without getting fined since they're not under contract. They would lose game checks only if they miss regular season games.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 17, 2023
This obviously makes for an interesting situation in New York and Las Vegas, as neither player can really be blamed for missing training camp due to the risk of getting injured ahead of the 2023 campaign.
The real question from here on out is whether one or both of these elite running backs will skip the 2023 NFL season entirely with a refusal to sign the tag.
However, they will be leaving $10 million on the table and will have an uncertain future moving forward, which might not pay off in the long run.
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