The potential first domino has fell in the running back market. The Dallas Cowboys signed Javonte Williams to a three year contract worth $24 million. This is bad news for the New Orleans Saints hopes of landing one of the top free agent running backs.
The reason it's just a potential domino is because it doesn't mean the rest of the league will follow. It wouldn't be the first time the rest of the league decided a team was on their own with a running back deal. The 49ers signed Christian McCaffrey to a contract worth $16 million per year in 2022. Four years later, only Saquon Barkley has topped it.
The rest of the league determined they weren't going to increase the running back market. Even Derrick Henry didn't break McCaffrey's average. The Saints should hope the rest of the league says the same thing about Williams' contract. That way the market doesn't balloon up for the top markets in this class.
Breece Hall and Travis Etienne may actually too high for the Saints now
If Javonte Williams is getting $8 million, you can only imagine what guys like Kenneth Walker III, Travis Etienne Jr. and Breece Hall will get. Williams was everything the team wanted him to be coming over in free agency in 2024. He more than earned his new contract, but the surprise in the deal comes from the position he plays. It isn't irregular to see running backs get low-balled.
Now as you turn the attention to the top of the market, Walker, Etienne and Hall are all going to turn and say they should be getting more money than Wiliams. A $10+ million contract was always possible, but it seem more likely to get that type of deal now.
Getting a player who could be a bell cow gives the Saints a pairing with Alvin Kamara and someone who could be the future at the position. Everyone's favorite draft crush is Jeremiyah Love. The top end of the market getting more expensive could push the Saints to look to scratch the itch in the draft.
None of this means a thing if the Saints already planned on going the bargain route. Rico Dowdle is a player who could be solid pick up but not cost too much. He showed enough to deserve the prominent role in the backfield Carolina oddly stripped from him. Moving within the division could be the answer.