Free agent running back Melvin Gordon may be feeling some regret right now.
Gordon held out from the first four games of the regular season last year in search of a better contract, but the Chargers never gave him the kind of offer he wanted. Now he’s a free agent, and not only is he still not getting the offer he wants, but he’s not even getting an offer as good as what the Chargers offered last year.
Mike Garafolo said on NFL Network that Gordon hasn’t received “anything remotely close” to the offer he could have had with the Chargers last year, which Garafolo reports was worth around $10 million a year.
It’s not surprising that Gordon isn’t getting many big offers, given that he finished last season with a career-low 612 rushing yards, and an average of just 3.8 yards per carry. NFL teams are increasingly deciding that running backs just aren’t worth a lot of money, and the few who get big contracts are coming off much better years than Gordon had in 2019.
The Chargers, meanwhile, have invested a long-term deal in running back Austin Ekeler, so staying with the Chargers is probably not an option for Gordon.
There may be a lesson here for Gordon and other players in understanding their own value. If your market value isn’t high, testing the free market isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.