NFL Rumors: Derrick Henry, Josh Jacobs headline star RBs not being tagged

For any team in the market for a marquee running back, this offseason presents a prime opportunity to do so as we approach NFL free agency for 2024.

According to ESPN’s Senior NFL insider Adam Schefter, several teams are electing to let their high-profile running backs hit the open market instead of placing a franchise or transition tag on them.

NFL Rumors: Derrick Henry, Josh Jacobs headline free-agent-to-be RBs

Schefter has reported the following running backs are “unlikely” to be tagged ahead of the March 5 deadline: Derrick Henry (Tennessee Titans), Josh Jacobs (Las Vegas Raiders), Saquon Barkley (New York Giants), Tony Pollard (Dallas Cowboys), and Austin Ekeler (Los Angeles Chargers).

Five running backs who exceed 1,000 scrimmage yards in 2023 are on the verge of entering unrestricted free agency, which encapsulates the perceived value of the position around the league.

NFL front offices feel there are better ways to allocate financial resources in roster construction, which has rendered the halfback position expendable. The Kansas City Chiefs have won consecutive Super Bowls with seventh-round running back Isiah Pacheco leading their backfield, which could be validation.

Considering the abundance of running backs becoming available and the dwindling market value of the position, these talented players may have to settle for lesser deals in free agency this offseason. 

If Henry, Jacobs, Barkley, Pollard, and Ekeler, who have established themselves as some of the premiere running backs in the NFL, have been unable to find common ground with their respective teams on long-term deals – what does this mean for the position moving forward? Has the league gone too far in their decimation of the positional group? 

The pending free agency of these players will be an intriguing storyline worth monitoring throughout the offseason.