2023 franchise tag deadline winners, losers: Tough day for Josh Jacobs, Saquon Barkley, Tony Pollard

No breaking news occurred at the NFL’s 4 p.m. ET franchise tag deadline on Monday regarding new, long-term contracts for the three remaining franchised-tagged players, a trio of Pro Bowl running backs: Josh Jacobs of the Las Vegas Raiders, Saquon Barkley of the New York Giants, and Tony Pollard of the Dallas Cowboys. Jacksonville Jaguars tight Evan Engram was one of the beneficiaries of the deadline as his squad signed him to a three-year, $41.25 million contract that includes $24 million fully guaranteed. The deal was signed a couple hours before the deadline with terms agreed to on Sunday, a day before decision time. 

With the franchise tag deadline in the rearview mirror, here are the winners and losers as teams will begin reporting to training camp. We’ll start with the losers from Monday’s inaction.

Losers: Josh Jacobs, Saquon Barkley, Tony Pollard and the rest of the NFL’s RBs

Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs was the NFL’s First-Team All-Pro running back in 2022 after leading the league in rushing yards (1,653) and scrimmage yards (2,053) at the age of 24. New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley’s career-high 1,312 rushing yards last season ranked as the fourth-most in the NFL and the most by a Giants player since Tiki Barber’s 1,662 back in 2006 as Barkley acted as the hub for 2022 NFL Coach of the Year Brian Daboll’s offense. Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Pollard led the NFL in scrimmage yards per touch last season (5.9) among players with at least 200 touches last season, a figure that was the most by a Cowboys player since Herschel Walker’s 6.0 scrimmage yards/touch back in 1987. 

However, all three Pro Bowl backs were stiff-armed by their respective teams when it came time to hand out contract extensions before the upcoming 2023 season. That makes them losers in this process as well as the rest of the running backs across the league. Barkley tweeted his resignation to the unfortunate lack of a market for himself given the franchise tag inaction. 

If these three can’t secure long-term deals now, what hope is there for others at the position going forward? Earlier this offseason, Green Bay Packers Pro Bowl running back Aaron Jones took a pay cut in order to remain with the Green and Gold despite running for a career-high 1,121 rushing yards, the 10th-most in the NFL. When the player who has led the NFL in scrimmage touchdowns in each of the last two seasons asked for a contract extension or trade, Los Angeles Chargers running back Austin Ekeler was simply handed a reworked deal from his Los Angeles Chargers. Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon also restructured his deal on Friday to make himself more affordable for the AFC runner-ups. Free agent Dalvin Cook, who is the only player in the entire NFL with at least 1,100 rushing yards in each of the last four seasons, was outright released by the Minnesota Vikings this offseason. 

Six years ago, back in 2017, the running back franchise tag figure was $12.1 million. Today, that figure has decreased by $2 million to $10.1 million, which is what Jacobs, Barkley, and Pollard will make in 2023 on their fully-guaranteed, one-year deals. On the flip side, franchise tag figures have all increased for quarterbacks ($21.2 million in 2017 to $32.4 in 2023), wide receivers ($15.6 million in 2017 to $19.7 million in 2023), offensive linemen ($14.2 million to $18.2 million), defensive ends ($16.9 million in 2017 to $19.7 million in 2023), and cornerbacks ($14.2 million in 2017 and $18.1 million in 2023). 

“It’s crazy to me because running backs bring so much value,” Packers Pro Bowl running back Aaron Jones told CBS Sports on Monday when asked about the running back market after Jacobs, Barkley, and Pollard didn’t receive new deals. “You got to be able to protect, and have to pass protect just like an offensive lineman. You have to know all the offensive line calls up front, who they’re working to. You have to run the ball as well with 11 guys trying to hit you. You make it hard to take you off the field, so you’re involved in the passing game. You’re doing just as much as anyone else except for the quarterback and maybe the center [on offense]. I really don’t understand how the position got devalued, but I hope our value comes back because if you look at it, running backs make a big difference in the game. Whether it’s protecting the quarterback — being that sixth-man in protection — running the ball, or taking pressure off of the quarterback [in the passing game].”

The 2021 rushing yards champion, Indianapolis Colts 24-year-old running back Jonathan Taylor, also expressed disappointment at the inaction regarding his peers’ second NFL contracts, simply tweeting “Wow.” 

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey, the NFL’s best at the position whose $16 million average-per-year is the highest among running back contracts, called Jacobs, Barkley, and Pollard not receiving deals Monday “criminal.”

It’s a grim time to be an NFL running back looking for a raise.   

Winner: Jerry Jones

Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones learned his lesson on overpaying running backs. He did so the hard way, watching the wheels fall off of Ezekiel Elliott the last three seasons while the former top-five pick played on a six-year, $90 million extension Jones handed him with two years remaining on his rookie deal. Pollard is a player worth keeping around since he’s 26 years old and has significantly less wear and tear (631 career touches) than Barkley (1,201 touches) and Jacobs (1,232). He’s coming off career highs across the board in rushing attempts (193), yards (1,007), and touchdowns (nine) plus catches (39), receiving yards (371), and receiving touchdowns (three). 

Jones will be able to pay him a lower rate per-year on a new deal next offseason with an oversaturated running back market involving Jacobs, Barkley, Derrick Henry, Austin Ekeler, D’Andre Swift, Jonathan Taylor, and AJ Dillon.

The New York Giants quarterback just got paid like Los Angeles Rams Super Bowl-winning passer Matthew Stafford and Dallas Cowboys two-time Pro Bowl quarterback Dak Prescott after signing a four-year, $140 million extension back in March. 

Brian Daboll, the 2022 NFL Coach of the Year, helped transform Jones from one of the most turnover prone quarterbacks in the league (his 1.29 turnovers per game ranked as the third most among qualified passer from 2019-2021) to the best at limiting his mistakes in 2022 (0.50 turnovers per game, the fewest in the NFL among qualified quarterbacks last season). Daboll helped Jones reach this newfound efficiency by designing an offense that led to him averaging 6.42 air yards per pass attempt, the second fewest in the league among qualified quarterbacks, ahead of only Matt Ryan’s 5.99 figure with the Indianapolis Colts. 

Paying a quarterback an average of $40 million per year who operates at his best when running an incredibly buttoned-up, conservative game plan starring a top-10 running back in Barkley doesn’t make sense. Jones’ next step in his development is being able to throw deep regularly, which could likely lead to him reverting back to the turnover-prone play that caused the front office to decline his fifth-year option last offseason. Barkley not standing by Jones in the backfield this fall or in the future could also lead to a collapse by Jones given his passer rating is 14.1 points higher when Barkley is on the field versus when he is not. 

Daniel Jones career 
with/without Saquon Barkley

The two-time Pro Bowl running back is expected to miss time at training camp while leaving his status for Week 1 in doubt after failing to receive a new deal, according to Fox Sports.   

The Jacksonville Jaguars are the only happy bunch from this year’s franchise tag deadline for tagged players to receive long-term deals because they secured their number-three pass-catcher from last year’s AFC Divisional Round run in tight end Evan Engram. The soon-to-be 29-year-old totaled career-highs in catches (73) and receiving yards (766), both the third-highest on the Jaguars behind wide receivers Christian Kirk and Zay Jones in 2022. His statistical production could dip with Calvin Ridley coming off of his suspension and poised to be one of Jacksonville’s top targets, but Engram is guaranteed to be a factor in quarterback Trevor Lawrence’s arsenal of pass-catchers for years to come. 

Continuity is new for Lawrence in Jacksonville, but it’s a welcome sight for all in Duval County. 

The Las Vegas Raiders thought they had a legit AFC West contender in 2022, but they failed dramatically as franchise all-time leading passer Derek Carr is now a New Orleans Saint, something All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams certainly didn’t think was going to happen to his best friend a year ago. Now, Adams is disgruntled.  

Not shelling out for running back Josh Jacobs rips away the NFL’s leader in rushing yards (1,653), scrimmage yards (2,053) and scrimmage touches (393) from the Raiders offense. Without him on the field, the offense could struggle in a big way. The Raiders went all-in on head coach Josh McDaniels getting the best out of Carr, Adams and Waller as an offensive trio, but now only Adams remains — and he’s under contract for four more seasons after signing a five-year, $140 deal with the Silver and Black last offseason — as the franchise stares into a big, black hole of a future on offense.   

The next two running backs on the New York Giants depth chart will get plenty of first-team reps in training camp, something that would never happen with Barkley around. For the 28-year-old Breida, the 2023 season could be one where the veteran who has played on four different teams in six seasons shows he’s worth having on a multi-year deal somewhere, whether it’s with the G-Men or elsewhere. Breida is on a one-year, $1.4 million contract for the upcoming season. 

Eric Gray, the Giants’ 2023 fifth-round pick running back out of Oklahoma, has an outside chance of earning a spot in the starting lineup as a rookie, should Barkley stand by his reported words and sit out extensive time. That’s a significant win for a rookie fifth-round pick, especially one playing in an offense under the reigning NFL Coach of the Year in Brian Daboll. 

Loser: Raiders, Cowboys and Giants fans

Fans of Jacobs’, Barkley’s, and Pollard’s respective teams are also losers today because they didn’t receive news that some of their favorite teams were securing the services of Pro Bowl performers for the foreseeable future. Snagging a big fish in free agency is fun, but what’s even better for fans is seeing their teams hit on their own picks, watching prospects evolve from rookies trying to figure out NFL life to Pro Bowlers and All-Pros. Their emotional investment in Jacobs, Barkley and Pollard today took a bit of a hit. 

This duo of Raiders running backs are winners in a similar fashion to Breida and Gray in New York. Jacobs is set to hold out from the Raiders’ training camp since he didn’t receive a new contract, so both Abdullah and White have a chance to replace the NFL’s leading rusher in Josh McDaniels’ starting lineup. Abdullah has primarily been a third-down back and kick returner during his eight-year career, but White could be an every-down participant, standing six feet tall and weighing 215 pounds. He played only 40 snaps as a fourth-round selection out of Georgia in the 2022 NFL Draft, rushing 17 times for 70 yards. He did not have a pass thrown his way. The course of his career could dramatically change if Jacobs holds out for an extended amount of time.  

What do all four of these Pro Bowl Dallas Cowboys stars have in common? They all have two years or fewer remaining on their current contracts with cornerback Trevon Diggs entering the final season of his rookie deal in 2023. Wide receiver CeeDee is Lamb entering the last cost-controlled year of his rookie contract before his $17.99 million fifth-year option kicks in come 2024. Tony Pollard not receiving big money now means any of them could receive pay raises in the form of contract extensions any day now.

“That group, we feel really good about, and I feel as we move forward it will all be about timing,” Cowboys COO and EVP Stephen Jones said in May, via The Athletic. “We feel good that we can work within the parameter of the cap and make those types of things happen. We have to continue to do well in the draft to make things like that happen. We have to continue to have guys step up and play because along the way, if we want to do those [deals], then we’ll have to make some tough decisions in other spots. … We want to work on all of the above, but we’ll just have to see how this thing plays out. You can’t dictate when things happen and the timing. It takes two sides. For them to want to sign up, they’ve got to be happy where it is. And vice versa. But I wouldn’t say just because we don’t get it done by the start of the season doesn’t mean we’re not going to ultimately sign them.”