Running back Melvin Gordon is heading into the fifth year of his rookie deal with the Chargers, so he won’t be hitting the free agent market this offseason.
He will be paying close attention to developments on that front. Gordon has talked about his desire to stay with the Chargers beyond the end of his current contract, but he said on Wednesday that he’s watching to see what kind of deal Le'Veon Bell signs this offseason before moving forward with any deal of his own.
“I’m waiting. I’m sitting back waiting, waiting on Bell,” Gordon told NFL Media, via the Orange County Register. “I’m glad it’s changing because we [running backs] were getting devalued for a little bit. But me, David Johnson, Todd Gurley, I can go down a whole list, Bell, you name it, ‘Zeke,’ just game-changers, Alvin Kamara, all those guys.”
Johnson and Gurley didn’t wait for Bell to sign a long-term deal before signing extensions with their teams. If Bell doesn’t get significantly more than those two players, the tides may not rise for the other backs as much as Gordon seems to hope they will.
