What to do since Gordon’s back
After a 2-month long holdout, Melvin Gordon has returned to play. The two-time Pro Bowler is now in the final year of his rookie contract. Before the holdout, he was scheduled to earn $5.6 million dollars this season. Gordon held out in an effort to earn a contract extension that would make him one of the highest paid running backs in the league. He even went as far as to submit a trade request. After no trades were accepted and no extension was reached, the Chargers decided to put off further contact discussions until the end of the season.
Now that he’s returned to the team, he’s expected to be worked back in gradually, with a limited role at first. He was originally supposed to be benched for yesterday’s matchup against the Dolphins, but he was called to action. Backup Justin Jackson is dealing with a calf injury and was ruled out for the game. Gordon’s role will only increase after yesterday’s performance.
Head Coach Anthony Lynn has openly stated that once Gordon is up to speed, he’s their number one guy. Austin Ekeler has been the primary backup to Gordon since he entered the NFL three seasons ago. He’ll return to that role again, as soon as Week 5. Ekeler is one of the league’s best backup running backs, he’s shown that in his first three games of the season. With Flash Gordon back in full, he’s no more than an RB2 or flex play at best. He’ll return to value if and only if Melvin Gordon misses more time.
Justin Jackson’s snap count is going to plummet with Gordon back in town. 32% of his rushing attempts last season came in Week 14 last season, when both Gordon and Ekeler were injured. This season, he hasn’t exceeded 7 carries in a single game. Calf injury or not, he shouldn’t be on anyone’s fantasy roster until someone ahead of him gets injured.
Melvin Gordon should be considered an RB1 from this point forward. Since his sophomore season, he’s been in the RB1 discussion when healthy. His problem has been that he gets injured year after year. In 2015 he tore his meniscus. In 2016 he sprained his PCL, and in 2018 he sprained his hamstring in October and sprained his MCL in November. The difference this year is that he’s missed the first three games. The hope for fantasy owners is that this is all the rest he needs for the rest of the season. He could play each of the next 13 games with a full workload.
It’s unclear what Gordon’s plans are after this season. It’s also entirely possible that he doesn’t know what his plans are either. I think it ultimately comes down to whether or not the Chargers are willing to offer him more money. They already offered him $10 million per year, which he declined. If he doesn’t get the deal he wants, he’s an unrestricted free agent and he can test the market.