Giant Decisions At Running Back

There is so much news coming out of the Giants lately that it’s easy to overlook a front-office issue they must address in the near future.  Beyond the glare of Plaxico Burress’ troubles, Antonio Pierce and whatever he might be saying to authorities, and their wonderful play this season (excluding Sunday), there’s a tough issue on the horizon. Running backs Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward are free agents after this season -- not restricted free agents, where the Giants have a right to match any offers, but unrestricted free agents able to sign with any team they choose.

Jacobs has proved to have some true value this season, as has Ward.  At the Packers, we traded for Ryan Grant last year to whittle down their enviable depth at running back.  The Giants must soon decide whether to sign both, one or neither of them.  The complicating issue is the proven risk in committing large sums to backs with some wear and tear to their bodies.

Although neither back has been used as others were in the past, there is a graveyard of bad deals for running backs who were viewed as not past their peak performance -- examples such as Shaun Alexander, Edgerrin James, Ahman Green, Corey Dillon, Jamal Anderson and Eddie George.  In fact, there may be a trend of signing running backs earlier and earlier in their careers – see Ryan Grant – in order to ensure the key years of a career arc, since it is one position that seems to become younger all the time.  Let's look at the two Giants players:

Jacobs has 531 carries in his career for 2,533 yards, an impressive 4.8 yards per carry.  He is averaging an even better 5.1 yards per carry this season, with over 1,000 yards on 195 carries.  He has had some nagging injuries lately but has shown good durability.  He also was able to preserve tread on his tires playing behind Tiki Barber in his first two seasons with the Giants. He’ll be 27 by the start of next training camp, still in his prime, but with running backs the bottom can fall out at any time past that age, so the Giants – even with this impressive performance – have to be careful.

Ward has less wear and tear, although he is older, having turned 28 in August (he was a seventh-round pick by the Jets in 2004 but did not earn a free agency credit that season).  With career totals of 298 carries for 1,394 yards, he also has an impressive yards-per-carry average of 4.7, actually averaging 4.8 in both 2007 and 2008 on 125 and 128 carries, respectively. In this case, although at an age the Giants need to be careful, he has been better preserved, with only 56 percent of the carries that Jacobs has had. 

Thus, the conundrum of what to do.  Regardless, the Giants will have Ahmad Bradshaw back, as he was a seventh-round pick signed last year – as most teams are now doing with low-round selections – to a four-year deal.  Thus, he has two years remaining before free agency.  Bradshaw is a talent who had some character issues that caused him to drop in the draft.  He has also continued to have some issues as a Giant, serving 30 days in a Virginia jail lasts summer following a probation violation.  Bradshaw is a nice player for the Giants on the field, but they have to be concerned about committing big money there, especially in light of what is going on with a certain receiver now.

The focus for the Giants will be to wear blinders for the next few weeks in trying to defend their championship.  The running back issues can wait, but they must be addressed prior to March.  As I am sure they know, teams must be careful with this position.  To this point, they have handled it remarkably well in terms of depth and cash and Cap commitments.  Soon it will get interesting.

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