Austin Ekeler Wants to 'Attack' NFL's 'Detrimental' Franchise Tag, Discusses RB Zoom

Los Angeles Chargers running back Austin Ekeler opened up this week about the Zoom meeting he organized for the NFL's top running backs last weekend.

Speaking to Tyler Dragon of USA Today, Ekeler discussed his desire to put a stop to teams consistently placing the franchise tag on many of the league's best running backs:

"I want to attack it. I think it's detrimental to us as players. You can look at any of the statistics. Our average career is three years. If you are fortunate enough to be in a position to have success, and now you're able to be locked in for more on one year, one year, one year and not have to share any of that risk with the organization then it's just not a great situation. It's very one-sided."

Ekeler also divulged that the first Zoom meeting was essentially an introduction, and there are plans in place to have more in the future:

"We wanted to get on that call because we wanted to hear everyone's story. It's not just a one-time call. We are gonna have more of those and continue to get more people on. We just had that to kind of break the ice and bring awareness. There are gonna be more calls and more education on what's going on, and how we can combat it and decide if it's worth combatting in the future. … It's educating right now. That is the next step in my eyes."

The impetus for the first meeting seemed to come last week Monday when the deadline passed for franchise-tagged players to sign long-term contracts. None of Saquon Barkley of the New York Giants, Josh Jacobs of the Las Vegas Raiders or Tony Pollard of the Dallas Cowboys received new deals at that time.

Additionally, Ekeler requested a trade earlier in the offseason when he and the Chargers were unable to come to terms on a contract extension.

Ekeler ultimately rescinded his request and reported to the team when he agreed to a reworked deal for 2023 that includes an extra $1.75 million in incentives.

Last week, Ekeler told Zach Gelb on CBS Sports Radio that no trades were able to gain traction because of the high asking price the Chargers placed on him:

"You were going to have to trade some high picks for me. The Chargers, they weren't going to let me go for anything that wasn't up there, so they saw my value there. It's funny how when they allow me the trade, they're like, 'OK, but we want you to get these types of picks,' which were not low picks, 'but we're not going to pay you like you're that type of player.' So, it's kind of interesting where it's like, 'Oh, if you're going to get traded, you got to get traded at this level, but if we're going to keep you, we're going to keep you down here at this level.'

"You can see for them, yeah, it makes sense because they're getting the best of both worlds there. They have the leverage. And so that's why it was tough for me to get anything out there or get a new contract where you're going to have to give up high picks and also restructure my contract. That's just being transparent on my situation."

The 28-year-old Ekeler, who led the NFL in touchdowns from scrimmage in each of the past two seasons, is in line to become a free agent next offseason unless the Chargers use the franchise tag or sign him to a new contract at a later date.

Like Ekeler, Barkley agreed to a deal that features incentives, signing a one-year, $10.091 million contract with $909,000 in incentives for 2023.

Had Barkley signed his $10.091 million franchise tender, he would have played at that salary in 2023 with no potential for incentives.

Barkley's new deal means Jacobs is the only running back left who has yet to sign after receiving the franchise tag, and it is possible he could hold out for the entirety of training camp.

Per ESPN, Ekeler, Barkley, Jacobs and Pollard were joined by several other high-profile running backs on the Zoom call, including Nick Chubb of the Cleveland Browns, Derrick Henry of the Tennessee Titans and Christian McCaffrey of the San Francisco 49ers.

The running backs reportedly discussed the depressed market for their services and batted around some ideas for how to fix it.

Due to the short shelf life of the running back position, teams have been reluctant in recent years to invest heavily in running backs in the form of long-term, big-money contracts.

Teams have also watched other teams win Super Bowls without stud running backs, which hurt their chances of landing big deals.

Most recently, the Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl last season with rookie seventh-round pick Isiah Pacheco as their leading rusher.

Teams don't currently seem willing to pay running backs significant money unless it is on a short-term deal, but Ekeler and his peers appear intent on finding a way to change that.