Ben Tate and LeGarrette Blount Prove Expendability of NFL RBs

Before the 2014 NFL season started, Ben Tate and LeGarrette Blount seemed like key cogs for the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC North. Less than four months later, both running backs are the latest examples of how easy running backs are to replace.

Tate and Blount were released by their respective teams on Tuesday, per tweets released by the Browns and Steelers:

It's important to note that both players did seem to burn bridges before being released. On November 12, Tate told Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com that he wasn't happy with Cleveland using a three-man rotation at running back.

"It's not [satisfying]," said Tate. "But whatever the organization thinks is best for the team, that's what they are going to do."

Browns head coach Mike Pettine spoke with reporters about Tate's diminished role in the offense before his release, noting it was more about what Terrance West and Isaiah Crowell were doing than anything else:

"

There's an explosiveness there with the young backs, just a little more pop. We just wanted to see those guys out there. Sometimes, it's not a negative against a guy, it's more a positive with the other ones. We take everything into account when we discuss the running backs.

"

At least Tate tried to play the consummate teammate at the end.

Blount couldn't even do that much, as Ed Bouchette of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported the 27-year-old left the field before the end of Pittsburgh's game against Tennessee on Monday night:

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He dressed and left the locker room, apparently headed for the team bus that would take them to the airport. At least one player thought they should leave him in Nashville.

Blount has been an internal problem for at least a month for the Steelers and sources told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he is dragging down star halfback Le’Veon Bell, even though that obviously was not the case Monday night when Bell ran 33 times for 204 yards.

"

Given those extenuating circumstances, it's not hard to imagine why the Browns and Steelers made the choices they did.

However, they're just the latest examples of how fleeting being a running back is for players who aren't at the top of the positional mountain.

Tate signed with the Browns in the offseason looking for an opportunity to start after spending three years as Arian Foster's understudy in Houston.

Blount wasn't going to supplant Le'Veon Bell as Pittsburgh's starter in 2014, but coming off a season with New England when he ran for five yards per carry and seven touchdowns, he seemed like a good bet for 125-150 carries.

Instead, the Browns found success on the ground with two rookies, including an undrafted free agent in Crowell. The Steelers only gave Blount 10 carries in a game twice this season, though he performed well with 4.1 yards per carry, per Pro-Football-Reference.com.

Tony Dejak/Associated Press

Tate's deal with the Browns was for two years with a $1.5 million signing bonus and $2.5 million guaranteed, while Blount's two-year contract with the Steelers guaranteed him $950,000. 

It's no secret that teams have a lower value of running backs than ever. The first one taken in the 2014 draft was Bishop Sankey by Tennessee with the 54th pick, which is the latest ever for that position. A running back hasn't gone in the first round since 2012 (Trent Richardson, Doug Martin and David Wilson).

Of those three, Richardson was traded by Cleveland to Indianapolis early in his second season and Wilson was forced to retire due to neck and spine injuries.

Only Martin remains with the team that drafted him, but injuries and inconsistent performance have allowed Bobby Rainey to emerge as a viable lead runner.

Looking elsewhere, DeMarco Murray has a reasonable argument to be named the NFL MVP through the first 11 weeks of the season. He leads the league with 1,233 rushing yards and 10 carries of at least 20 yards, per ESPN,com.

Yet the discussion around Murray isn't about what's happening on the field, but if he's carrying the ball too much and likelier to break down quicker as a result, via Will Brinson of CBSSports.com:

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The Cowboys have an offensive line that can block well enough for Murray to keep churning out massive production week in and week out.

That's a pretty massive risk for the Cowboys though. NFL history -- and Murray's history with health -- tell us it's far more likely they're forced to reduce his carries because of injury or production.

"

ESPN NFL draft guru Mel Kiper told reporters on a conference call before the 2014 draft that teams view the position as a secondary area of need. “Very few teams need running backs,” Kiper Jr. said. “So you’re looking at a second-tier need area.”

This is the dilemma that second-tier running backs like Tate and Blount find themselves in. They aren't good enough to carry the full load for an offense, so they have to be in peak form when they do see the field in order to warrant a roster spot.

If not, as was evidenced by the roster moves on Tuesday, they are expendable and will be cut loose less than four months into a season.

Every team wants to have a great running game, but the proliferation of the passing game in recent years has made the position less of a priority in today's NFL.

Contract information courtesy of Spotrac.

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