4 FA running backs Jaguars can sign in 2022 to bolster depth

No. 3 FA running back Jaguars can sign in 2022 – Melvin Gordon

By now, it looks like every running back on this list had to play against the Jaguars this season to qualify but it’s a mere coincidence. Having said that, Melvin Gordon didn’t find much success running the ball against Jacksonville in Week 2, amassing 31 yards on 13 carries.

Nevertheless, the 15th overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft has been a solid player throughout his seven-year career, appearing in 95 games with 85 starts and racking up 1,448 carries for 5,995 yards with 52 touchdowns. He will be 29 next offseason but should still have plenty of gas left in the tank.

The Los Angeles Chargers offered Gordon a deal worth around $10 million per year back in 2019 but it wasn’t good enough for him, so he held out for the preseason and the first four games of the regular season. The Bolts didn’t back down and the former first-round selection ended up reporting without a contract. The following offseason, he signed a more modest two-year deal worth $16 million. Looking back, he should have taken the Chargers’ money and he has acknowledged as much.

During his tenure in Denver, Gordon has participated in 28 games with 24 starts and has tallied 389 rushes for 1,755 yards. He will try to get as much money as possible next offseason, but teams won’t be in a rush to give him a top-market deal. Spotrac projects he will get a one-year contract worth $5.2 million in 2022, which isn’t cost-prohibitive and would be money well spent by the Jaguars.