Philadelphia Eagles: 5 burning questions in 2018

2. Can Jay Ajayi behave?

The Eagles rolled the dice on bringing Ajayi in from Miami via a midseason trade and it paid off with a Super Bowl championship. The Dolphins didn’t let him go for no reason though. They clearly thought the physical running back was too much trouble in the locker room to justify his production on the field.

Philadelphia didn’t see that side of Ajayi last year. He was a good soldier from day one. He only rushed the ball 70 times in seven games for the team last season but he put up an eye-popping average of 5.8 yards per carry. That type of productivity has him in line for a much bigger role in 2018.

The big question is whether or not Ajayi is going to be content with a timeshare in the backfield given his contract status. 2018 represents the last season in the four-year contract he signed with the Dolphins back in 2015. Given the fact that he’s making less than $2 million this season it’s clear he’ll be looking for a massive payday this offseason.

Typically, Philadelphia doesn’t like to pay running backs a ton of money. That could lead to contentious contract negotiations between the two parties during the season. Given Ajayi’s history for being a prickly personality in the locker room, it’s an issue the front office needs to skirt around very carefully. They cannot afford Ajayi’s personal interests to disrupt their harmonious team dynamic.