For those of us who were skeptical about the aging Steven Jackson making an impact in his first season with the Atlanta Falcons, the fact that injuries already have cost him four games and his yards-per-carry average has dropped from a career average of 4.2 to a career-low average of 3.5 seemed to prove us right. And since he has no guaranteed money on his contract for 2014, it’s fair to wonder if the Falcons will cut him and look for a new answer at running back.
However, it sounds like the Falcons intend to keep Jackson in the fold.
“But one veteran about whom the Atlanta brass seems to have already made up its mind is tailback Steven Jackson … The Atlanta brain trust certainly seems ready to ignore the fact that Jackson is now 30 years old, the dreaded age for most runners, and will be 31 by the time training camp starts next summer,” wrote Len Pasquarelli of the National Football Post.
Pasquarelli believes that coach Mike Smith is “apparently chalking up Jackson’s ‘down’ year to the injury, generally poor line play, and the fact the Falcons have trailed in so many games in 2013 (limiting the tailback’s opportunities.)”
Another factor working in his favor for sticking with the Falcons is a friendly contract that only counts about $4.2 million against their salary cap for next season. The Falcons may well kick the tires on some free agents, but it appears the current plan is for them to lean on S-Jax next season when he will be 31 years old.
