Sources – Franchise tags unlikely for Josh Jacobs, Saquon Barkley،
Josh Jacobs, Saquon Barkley and Tony Pollard are all expected to become free agents in what promises to be a star-studded running back market, sources told ESPN on Monday.
The Las Vegas Raiders will attempt to re-sign Jacobs, but they are not expected to tag him, league sources told ESPN, especially with his franchise tag costing $14,149,200.
The New York Giants will speak with Barkley and explore a deal with him, but they are also unlikely to give him $12,109,200, sources told ESPN.
The Dallas Cowboys are not expected to use the same $12,109,200 tag on Pollard, sources told ESPN.
The Tennessee Titans will not mark veteran standout Derrick Henry, and the Los Angeles Chargers are also expected to let Austin Ekeler explore free agency, league sources told ESPN.
Other running backs expected to enter free agency next month include D'Andre Swift, AJ Dillon, Devin Singletary, Zack Moss, JK Dobbins, Gus Edwards, Ezekiel Elliott and Clyde Edwards-Helaire.
All of this creates an offseason that now stands in direct contrast to 2023, when three running backs – Jacobs, Barkley and Pollard – have each received restrictive franchise tags. This offseason, it appears no running backs will be tagged, making this one of, if not the best and deepest, running back classes in free agency history. most accomplished of all time.
While a glut of running backs will be good for teams, it might not be good for all backs. Free agency is all about supply and demand, and the supply at the position this offseason is unprecedented and could help keep free agency prices low, even if the biggest stars could still land big salaries.
The NFL announced Friday that its salary cap for the 2024 season will reach a record $255.4 million per team, a staggering 13.6% increase over last year's cap. That's $30.6 million more per team than last year's $224.8 million.
The running back market has been tough in recent years. Jonathan Taylor became the first running back since 2021 to sign a long-term contract worth at least $10 million per year when he agreed to a three-year, $42 million extension with the Colts from Indianapolis last October.
This offseason, it would be a feat for one – or more – of these backs to command what their franchise number would be. Jacobs' franchise tag is higher than the normal running back tag because he had additional guaranteed money added to his adjusted contract last summer. Barkley had incentives added to his deal, but didn't get any of them.
