2016 NFL free agency: Who will LeGarrette Blount sign with?
Where will LeGarrette Blount sign in 2016 NFL free agency?
LeGarrette Blount is one of the more interesting running backs in the NFL today. His career lowlights as a football player include the notorious punch he threw in college during a Boise State/Oregon matchup and being charged for possession of marijuana with Steelers star running back Le’Veon Bell.
His career highlights have all come playing for the New England Patriots, and include rushing for 166 yards and four touchdowns against the Colts in a 2013 AFC Divisional playoff game and then following that up with a 148-yard, three-touchdown performance in the 2014 AFC Championship Game (again against the hapless Colts).
His year was cut short in 2015 by a troublesome hip injury that knocked him out for the end of the regular season and the playoffs, and now he enters free agency with no clear indication of where he’ll play next.
Vitals
Age: 29
Notable stat: Career rushing average of 4.6 yards per carry
All-Pro teams: 0
Pro Bowls: 0
Contract comparison
Blount just finished up playing under a two year contract with the Pats worth $1.7 million. It’s a fairly low number for a starting running back in the NFL, but then again, there really hasn’t been much interest from any of the other 31 teams in Blount the last few years.
For some reason unbeknownst to everyone except Bill Belichick, though, the Patriots really like having Blount around, and he’s been a surprisingly constant part of their offense for a couple seasons now (particularly when the weather gets cold around playoff time).
The Patriots’ running back rotation is one of the hardest to understand in the NFL, so it’s anyone’s guess what number they’ll bring Blount back at (if they bring him back at all). For what it’s worth, they have fellow backs James White and Dion Lewis signed through 2018 at $2.6 million each.
Estimate: 2 years/$4 million/$750K guaranteed
Will he stay?
Recent reports out of New England suggest there may be mutual interest between Blount and the Patriots in agreeing to a new deal, which if true, would be a bit of a shock considering many analysts had Blount pegged as the odd man out at running back this offseason, given the emergence of Lewis and White as passing backs.
The Pats do need a “big back” though to pound the rock on the rare occasion they decide they want to have some semblance of a running game these days, and Steven Jackson didn’t do much in a limited audition at the end of 2015 to prove he could be that guy. If Blount is willing to come back again at a bargain price, he’ll probably stick around for at least one more season.
If he leaves…
As mentioned earlier, there hasn’t been much interest around the league for Blount over recent years. Other than the Patriots, the only team Blount has played for over the last three seasons was the Pittsburgh Steelers, and that experiment was a complete and utter disaster that culminated with Blount leaving a game against the Titans early and promptly getting released by the team the next day.
The Houston Texans probably represent the only other legitimate destination for Blount, given their need at the position and the strong ties between Belichick and Texans head coach Bill O’Brien. If Blount leaves Foxborough, it’s possible Houston could tap him as a replacement for Arian Foster. While he’s nowhere near as talented as Foster, he’s at the very least a better option than Alfred Blue or Chris Polk.