Austin Ekeler continued to expand upon his viewpoints and the fight for the current running back market. First, he was asked about the Zoom meeting that the top running backs in the league held last Saturday.
“I thought it was important to get together and talk about these issues,” Ekeler said. “These things aren’t going to change overnight. We want to put ourselves in positions as a union to protect ourselves as players.”
Ekeler further detailed the fight against media members using certain analytical figures to devalue the impact running backs have in the league.
“You can put statistics in one way or another to say someone’s worth something, or they’re not. These narratives are putting you down for, ‘well can you keep doing it?'”
Ekeler responded to a tweet from Colts owner Jim Irsay referencing the current CBA. There was some acknowledgment from Ekeler back that Irsay was right about the everyday use of the franchise tag having been agreed to back in 2020.
However, Ekeler said that the running backs must stay united in their messaging against such devices being used by executives and owners.
Using Giants’ Saquon Barkley as an example, Ekeler tried to demonstrate the unmeritocratic nature of the current market. “If Saquon Barkley runs for 3000 yards, ‘alright, we’re gonna franchise tag him again.'”
The quote that perfectly summarized Ekeler’s viewpoints in the presser was when he said running backs are “punished for their production.”
“You have that success, and then you get put into a situation where these narratives are putting you down as far as ‘Well, can you keep doing it?’ We’re the only position right now that seems to be getting punished for our production. It frustrates us.”
It should be noted that Ekeler sees his fight for the running back market and his relationship with the Chargers as two different entities. Ekeler stated his appreciation for the organization and referenced how they met him in the middle with incentives earlier this offseason.
In talking about the actual offense, he seemed visibly excited when answering questions about Kellen Moore. Ekeler cited good energy at camp practices that is “meshing” together Moore’s offense.