Austin Ekeler warns NFL after dark day for running backs

Los Angeles Chargers star Austin Ekeler fires off warning shot about not paying running backs.

Monday was a dark day in the NFL for star running backs, but Austin Ekeler of the Los Angeles Chargers is going to bat for his guys big time.

Whether it be Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs and Tony Pollard on franchise tags or even Joe Mixon having to agree to a restructure to stay, it has been so beyond pulling teeth for one of the big focal points of these offenses. Yes, the NFL is a quarterback-driven league, but owners cannot expect to reasonably pay running backs pennies on the dollar forever going forward. This needs to change…

Ekeler appeared on The Zach Gelb Show on Monday night to discuss his disgust of the situation.

"“From a player’s aspect, we have no control. I have no control. So really who we want answers from is the ownership. Like, why are you doing this? What’s the reason? Like, you aren’t interviewing them about it. Like, how many owners have you talked to about this? Zero.”"

Gelb responded to the rhetorical question coming from Ekeler, but he certainly sympathizes with all that is going on with guys in similar predicament as the Chargers star and fantasy darling.

"“I know. They ain’t gonna say anything, either. Because, for whatever reason, they’ve got this thing going on where it’s like a new trend, like, ‘Oh, let’s not pay these guys.’ I don’t know, maybe they’re just testing us. Like, ‘Hey, let’s see what happens.’ But, you know, you poke the bear and you’re gonna make us have to do something.”"

Here is a great clip of Ekeler pretty much just letting NFL ownership have it over this nonsense.

The only shame in this is this is what the players agreed upon in the current collective bargaining agreement. Not until the NFLPA gets its ducks in order will anything every really change with this.

Austin Ekeler goes on impassioned rant over NFL owners shorting running backs

I have three thoughts on the brutal day for NFL running backs on Monday. One, I think it needs to serve as a moment for the NFLPA to get its collective s**t together. Like, no more accepting nonsense that is gift-wrapped like a good idea from the people who don’t want to pay you squat. Let this awful day for the Barkleys, Jacobses and Pollards of the world to be a wake-up call, guys.

The second is the game will pivot here soon. Quarterback play will always be important, but it is getting way too lopsided. There will be groundbreaking innovations in the ground game sooner rather than later. Someone will do something that is perceived to be cutting edge, but it may be something discovered from a dusty, half-moth-eaten book that was in the library the whole time!

And finally, I’m here for these guys. Football is a game of injury. Everyone gets hurt. Yet, running back has been the one position that has been labeled as the riskiest investment for a franchise to make. The data does back it up, but being that risk-averse is going to probably cost someone a Lombardi or two. Many of these stars are cooked by the time they are 30, but just pay them, man.

Let’s give Ekeler a lot of credit for having the courage to speak this candidly about his line of work.