Dameon Pierce Focused On 'Being The Best Me,' Not Current RB Contract Disputes
One of the hottest league-wide topics: the running back's contract situation.
Starting with New York Giants ball carrier Saquon Barkley and extending into a huge feud between Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay and Jonathan Taylor, there have been highly contested debates on whether running backs are being properly compensated, if they are being devalued and potential reasons why the contract disputes have heated up.
Houston Texans running back Dameon Pierce gave his thoughts on the current market situation and said the root of some problems are "dependent on the guy."
"A lot of guys try to base that off what they do on the field," Pierce said Friday. "It's more than that when it comes to an owner looking at this guy like, 'How did this guy impact our organization? How did this guy impact our locker room?' The play on the field is obvious."
Barkley stepped to the forefront of the running back dispute light when he was trying to work out a long-term deal with the Giants after not signing the franchise tag. The Giants and Barkley jockeyed back and forth between New York extending an offer for $26 million for two years and the running back wanting $16 million per year.
The two could not agree on a long-term deal before July 17, and Barkley signed a one-year, $11 million deal on July 25.
Then the Colts drama came to the forefront with Taylor, who wasn't in a contract year, despite wanting to reach a new deal before his rookie contract was up after next season, a source close to the situation told The Associated Press.
Irsay tweeted that the running backs might be getting sold "bad faith" by their agents, prompting a quote tweet from Taylor's agent, Malki Kawa, that said, "Bad faith is not paying your best offensive player."
Taylor has since requested a trade which Irsay declined to do, but Indianapolis has contemplated putting the 2021 First Team All-Pro on the non-football injury list with back pain which could result in forfeited pay, according to ESPN's Stephen Holder. The drama concluded for the moment with Taylor responding on Twitter saying he never cited back pain.
However, with players like Barkley and Taylor lobbying their case for more money from their reluctant franchises begs the question: are running backs getting devalued in today's pass-happy NFL?
"I wouldn't say devalued, but once you set a market for something, everybody's going to follow," Pierce said. "Kind of like what happened when I came here when I got my fourth-round rookie contract, everybody's like, 'Hey man, he got this,' because everybody's trying to bump it up. This is the NFL. It's the business side."
Pierce, who still has three years left on his rookie deal, is coming off a rookie season in which he played 13 games, and logged 220 carries for 939 yards and four touchdowns.
Pierce said he is not worried about contract talks in the immediate future
"I just try to focus on being the best me," Pierce said. "I come here every day and try to uplift everybody, and in the future, my contract's going to reflect what I've done for this team and what I mean to this team."
You can follow Casey Smith on Twitter @casey_smith2419
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