NFL Offseason 2020: Which Running Backs Could Find New Homes?

Despite all that I just painstakingly laid out, it doesn’t seem like the Jets will be able to move Bell from the roster- at least not this offseason.

The team can’t cut him this year or else they will incur $17 million in dead cap charges. It isn’t until the 2021 offseason that Bell’s contract offers a potential out, where the team would only have to pay $4 million in dead cap.

A trade is the only fathomable way for the Jets to move on from Bell, but after the performance he put up last season, is it realistic to think that many teams would be interested? Probably not. Though he had proven himself as a top-tier running back year after year with Pittsburgh, the statistics from his first year in New York should be enough of a deterrent for prospective teams.

Of 47 qualifying players, his 3.2 yards per carry figure was No. 46 on the list. Though his analytical evaluation wasn’t as horrible -- he was ranked No. 20 by Pro Football Focus among all running backs -- the payoff doesn’t seem to be there for the second-highest running back contract.

Any team that is willing to pay up for Bell should be viewed as a welcome opportunity for the Jets to unload Bell, even if it requires New York offering some financial assistance in the process.

The best rushing attack in the NFL was ironically spearheaded by a duo of undrafted running backs in Raheem Mostert (5.6 yards per carry) and Matt Breida (5.1 yards per carry). This means that the two running backs that could most likely be on the move, be it through a cut or a trade, are the two running backs that were drafted.

Both Coleman (4.0 yards per carry) and McKinnon (injured) were third-round draft picks, and both can still prove useful on a team looking for support in the ground game. Cutting either of these guys would free up between $4.5 and $5 million in cap space, and though cutting both would decrease running back depth, the 49ers already have the luxury of two premier running backs, given that it’s hard to imagine them letting Matt Breida walk in free agency.

Gordon is a free agent, and he’s probably excited for a change of scenery. After holding out for a portion of the 2019 season, Gordon is a top commodity for a team searching for their next franchise running back.

That said, he wasn’t amazing in 12 games this past year, averaging 3.8 yards per carry and losing some of his playing time due to the emergence of Austin Ekeler as a versatile backfield threat.

Spotrac projects his market value at $11.7 million per year, which was more than the seven-figure salary the Chargers were offering him. Whether or not his performance this offseason lowered his expectations is yet to be known, but there are several potential buyers out there. The Buccaneers are a team that could certainly use some backfield support.

Given the injuries that have negatively impacted some running backs’ careers and made their contracts tough to swallow after only a couple years (Todd Gurley and David Johnson, among others), it’s hard to comfortably offer running backs big-time contracts.

Derrick Henry should be an exception to this rule, though, for the Tennessee Titans.

It’s hard to imagine any other running back in the NFL, be it Saquon Barkley, Christian McCaffrey or any of the other top tier players, doing what Henry did for the Titans down the stretch and into the postseason. He’s the only running back with the power that he possesses, and his build and pure strength makes him seem less prone to injury than some of the other guys out there.

He won’t be cheap -- Spotrac places his market value at just under $14 million per year -- but the Titans have enough cap room (~$48 million) to bring back Henry and Ryan Tannehill. The franchise tag is an option in order to retain Henry without the long-term risk, so long as the strategy doesn’t cause Henry to take a Le’Veon Bell-esque course of action down the road.

Additionally, the Titans can create room by cutting ties with Dion Lewis, Delanie Walker and other aging cap-eaters.

This is one of the less-clear situations among available running backs, especially given the emergence of both Miles Sanders and Boston Scott. Age has proven to come with hardship for the Eagles after injuries to Alshon Jeffery and DeSean Jackson derailed the Eagles’ season, and so it may be tempting to stick with younger options. Jordan Howard, at 25-26, isn’t exactly old, but he came to Philadelphia after three seasons of 250+ carries and was part of the team’s injury equation.

Given the recent cut of Nigel Bradham and the report that more are coming (per Adam Schefter), the Eagles are obviously clearing space for a reason, and there are much more pressing areas of the roster to focus on this offseason. Instead, Howard makes sense for a team looking for a downhill, veteran presence in the backfield. The Bills come to mind as a possible fit, as do the Bears and the Cardinals (should they make moves in the backfield).

That couldn’t have been the entirety of Hunt’s Browns career, right? Like all things 2019 Cleveland football, Hunt’s signing came with its fair share of hype and ended relatively quietly. He wasn’t bad though, averaging 4.2 yards per carry and making an impact in the receiving game. Besides, he has already made his confidence in a return to Cleveland known.

The biggest questions will be, first, whether the team will extend him or just grant him one more year through the club option, and, second, what type of tender they will place on his qualifying offer.

The Browns have a lot of cap room, and though there are a lot of areas for improvement, the team should be able to bear the $3.2 million contract that would come with a second-round tender. In fact, it wouldn’t be surprising if they used a first-round tender ($4.6 million) to make his status as a Brown even more secure.

Both running backs are free agents and both are nearing an age that effectively spells the end of a running back’s career (just don’t tell Adrian Peterson). But only one will be back in Houston, and it’s much more likely that the Texans opt to re-sign last year’s quiet 1,000-yard rusher.

Hyde experienced a career resurgence in Houston, upping his yards per carry to 4.4 from the previous year’s 3.3, and has stated his interest in returning to Houston, as mentioned by ESPN’s Sarah Barshop. Though he was one of the top 12 running backs in terms of yardage last season, his age will likely be a deterrent to some of the Texans’ potential competitors in free agency, meaning they won’t have to pay too much for his services.

Miller, on the other hand, was out for all of 2019 with an ACL injury, and would be a similarly inexpensive, short-term option for the backfield. If the Texans get similar opportunities to sign both of them, it only makes sense that they’d lean toward Hyde.

His name has been floated around as a trade candidate and/or a cut candidate more than just about any other running back in the game, but it seems increasingly likely that the Cardinals will hold on to him for 2020.

Besides words from the general manager Steve Keim saying that cutting Johnson “is not an option,” the financial burden of the decision just doesn’t seem to be worth his release. Cutting him this year would require the team to pay $2 million more than it would to keep him on board. The benefit of doing this would be to free up $12 million in cap space for 2021.

If the Cardinals keep him around for this year, which seems like the smarter move, they’ll still be able to release him in 2021 should it not pan out. Though waiting until next offseason would only free up $9 million in cap space as compared to the aforementioned $12 million, it’s worth seeing if he can return to form.