Chargers RB Austin Ekeler ready for football

(News4usonline) – This fall is going to be a big season for running back Austin Ekeler. For that matter, the 2023 NFL season will also be a big one for the Los Angeles Chargers. Ekeler is in the final year of his contract with the Chargers.

The four-year deal he inked with the Chargers in 2020 will evaporate. What happens next is anyone’s guess. For the time being that matter is a way off. Right now the focus for the Chargers and for Ekeler is that he is in camp and ready to prepare for the season with his teammates.

“I was in an opportunity to capture some more value with the year that I came off of and kind of the reputation that I’ve been growing for myself,” Ekeler said at the conclusion of minicamp. “I wanted to try to exploit those, try to find those. I was poking around, trying to find that. Obviously, with the Chargers, the negotiations stopped. So, we tried to just go find it somewhere else. I think with what’s just been happening in the atmosphere around the running back market has been pretty tough.

“I ended up coming back here. I am thankful for the way it played out because the Chargers did give me something in the middle, some type of incentive. I am very appreciative of that because they did not have to do that. I understand that. I understand that there’s a business side to all of this.”

For a while there during the offseason, it didn’t look like Ekeler would be part of the ballclub after requesting a trade. Ekeler did not participate in the OTAs (organized team activities). Missing minicamp would not have been a good sign for Ekeler or the Chargers. The sticking point in all of this is money.

“I wouldn’t be doing myself a service if I wasn’t going and trying to find more value while I can,” said Ekeler.” All of us have a shelf life. We don’t know when it’s going to be, so you want to try to maximize it while you’re still playing.”

Ekeler’s four-year contract with the Chargers was scheduled to pay him $24.5 million, according to Spotrac. This season, Ekeler is scheduled to earn a base salary of $6.25 million. Given the shelf life of a running back that really is not a whole lot of money. In the past few years, running backs in the NFL have been swapped, discarded, and bandied about due to the market value of their worth.

Accordingly, teams have been reluctant to dump a boatload of money into the lap of a player whose position has largely been altered because of injuries and/or offensive and defensive schemes reducing their effectiveness.

 According to a 2023 report by Statista, the average running back lasts 2.5 years in the NFL. Thus far, Ekeler has proven himself to be durable and steady throughout his career. Entering his seventh season in the NFL, all with the Chargers, Ekeler has been the most effective hybrid running back in the league. 

Catching the football and making plays yards after the catch is where Eker really earns his money. Sure, he can run in between the tackles. Yes, Ekeler does have the ability to provide some wiggle in his game to make defenders miss and he has enough speed to hit the occasional home run (long run touchdown). However, catching the ball out of the backfield is a specialty for Ekeler.

During the 2022 season, Ekeler caught 107 passes for 722 yards and five scores. If you throw in his 915 yards and 13 touchdowns rushing you have a complete back in Ekeler. But just like Melvin Gordon before him, Ekeler is in the reality that the market for running backs may or may not be favorable to him once this season winds down.

“For my situation, putting myself in the spotlight, it was kind of how I’ve gotten here, you know? Being back to No. 3 out there, running around, betting on myself, having everything to prove,” Ekeler said. “I’ve proved some from there, but you have to prove it and continue to prove it, obviously, in this league depending where you are and the situation in your contract. I still have a year left. It makes sense, I still have an obligation with the Chargers here. That’s what I signed up for. I understand that.”

Ekeler went on to talk about how frustrating of a time it is for running backs when it comes to reaping the financial rewards for their play.

“What really is going on that I was really frustrated about is our top three guys getting franchise tagged and really capping the market — with [Giants RB] Saquon [Barkley], [Raiders RB] Josh [Jacobs] and [Cowboys RB] Tony [Pollard],” Ekeler added. “That’s really what’s really frustrated me about what’s going on in our current situation.   

“Mine, I get it. I get mine a little bit more than I get theirs. I understand the league has that tool on their side to utilize that in the way and when they want to. But it’s just really hurt our market just because, us as running backs — sure, you say we have a shorter life. People say we get hurt. Sure, you can look at numbers, but everyone gets hurt in the NFL.”