Getty Image / Brett Carlsen
Back in 2018, Le’Veon Bell did something that has rarely been seen in the NFL.
He held out for entire season as a result of a contract dispute with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Steelers had franchise tagged him after he racked up nearly 2000 total yards during his 5th year in the league, earning his 3rd All-Pro nod.
Bell, who had already lost nearly a full year of his career to an ACL injury, wanted a long-term deal to protect his future in case of injury.
That deal never came and Bell sat out the season. A year later, he signed with the New York Jets.
5 years later, things haven’t gotten any better for NFL running backs and Saquon Barkley and Josh Jacobs now find themselves in similar situations.
In response to neither player getting a long-term deal before yesterday’s deadline, Bell posted a tweet comparing himself to Flik from “A Bug’s Life”.
Disney a LONG time ago (1998) taught me a valuable lesson about sticking together, go watch “A Bug’s Life” … it’ll put in perspective the running back market .. the running backs are the ants .. I’m Flik (The Inventive Ant) I took ALL the damage from the grasshoppers (Owners)
— Le'Veon Bell (@LeVeonBell) July 18, 2023
Unfortunately for Le’Veon Bell, his fight against the “grasshoppers” didn’t go so well.
He got a sizable contract from the Jets, but was cut midway through his 2nd season with them. He was out of the league after the 2021 season.
Things might not work out much better for Jacobs or Barkley.
It’s the reality that running backs have to face in the NFL these days that their careers are short and they can be replaced cheaply by the teams they play for.
Year after year, we see unheralded rookies and injury replacements put up big numbers on small contracts in a league where winning in the playoffs is mostly dependent on being able to throw the ball.
It looks like it’s going to continue to be tough out there for NFL running backs because I’m not really sure what the bird that eats Hopper is in Bell’s metaphor.