5. Will these running backs return to form?
Adrian Peterson to the New Orleans Saints. Marshawn Lynch to the Oakland Raiders. Eddie Lacy to the Seattle Seahawks. Jamaal Charles to the Denver Broncos. This is a total of 17 Pro Bowls that switched teams during the offseason. All four of these players have something to prove to their new squads as well.
For Peterson, it’s all about showing that he is still a viable running back after struggling through injuries last season and following a three-year span that saw him play a total of 20 games.
At 32 years old and in a completely different system, one has to wonder if Peterson has finally hit that wall following a Hall of Fame caliber career. Heck, here’s a guy that’s not even being given a guarantee that he will start this upcoming season for the Saints.
Lynch is a completely different story. After losing Latavius Murray in free agency, many figured Oakland would go ahead and draft a replacement at running back. That all changed when Lynch — after one season away from the NFL — decided to return for his home-town Raiders.
Some wonder whether Lynch is completely washed. After all, he’s 31 years old and has not seen more than eight attempts in a game since November of 2015. Then again, Lynch did take a year off from the physical pounding being an NFL running back takes. That could give him fresh legs for a loaded Raiders team (more on that later).
Lacy and Charles are interesting in that their success was nowhere near as long lasting as the other two running backs here. Lacy fell out of favor in Green Bay due to injury and weight issues over the past two seasons. As mentioned before, he’s now being tasked with helping Thomas Rawls shoulder the load in Seattle. Whether that happens is anyone’s guess, but Lacy has the incentives to get back on track (more on that here).
With Charles it’s all about injuries. Considering he’s still one of the most-effective all-around backs in the game, it was a surprise that Charles took a fully non-guaranteed deal with Denver after being released by the Chiefs.
That’s until we realize the two-time All Pro has played in a grand total of eight games since suffering a torn ACL back in October of 2015, his second torn ACL of the running back’s career. With Charles not even being a lock to make the Broncos’ 53-man roster, the question here is whether his career is over. If so, that would be a sad culmination for a player that put up over 5,000 total yards from 2012-14.
On the other hand, should Charles remain healthy, it would be a huge boon for a Broncos team dealing with a questionable quarterback situation.