NFL Analyst hints at collusion as Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs miss out on extension - "This is what is so maddening"

Saquon Barkley and Josh Jacobs have become the poster children of the struggles of running backs in the NFL. They are the fourth-highest and highest among stats leaders in the rushing category for the last season. And Kimberley A. Martin believes it comes down to collusion between teams that they are unwilling to go above a certain value for running backs. She said:

"So here, unfortunately, there's one word that has been mentioned to me quite a bit in conversations, collusion. Now you can't prove it right. But remember, the Lamar Jackson situation? And everyone thought, well, Lamar Jackson is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. If he wants guaranteed money, how come nobody wants to give him guaranteed money?

She compared it to the Lamar Jackson situation earlier in the offseason when he was struggling to get a contract. She concluded:

And it was clear teams coming out saying no, we're good. We don't want it.It feels the same way to a lot of people around the league. And what the issue is, is that the league is telling us what they think of running backs."

Saquon Barkley and Josh Jacobs' contributions undervalued

Kimberley A. Martin also pushed the NFL on the hypocrisy of having two of the five most productive running backs of last season without a contract. She said they are willing to take advantage of players like Saquon Barkley and Josh Jacobs and build around them but not value them.

"Ultimately when it comes down to it, there is a cap on what we think your value is on the field. We will lean on you left and right. Toss you the ball, hand you the ball. You can win games for us. But when it comes down to what we are willing to pay and how we want to divvy up our money, your position, we don't value it."

She also laid out the situation facing the running backs right now, where if they don't want to pay, they can just use the franchise tag and then use someone for an extra period before drafting a younger back.

"We would rather tag you, tag you, draft a running back, pay that running back and when it comes time for his career for him to get paid as a free agent, get rid of him too and start the process over. That's what the league is telling us. And that is what is so maddening watching this scene play out."

It is indeed a sad situation that the stats leader in rushing last year cannot get reach a contract agreement.