Welcome to the 2019 Holdout Watch. These players haven’t reported to camp and as usual, the reason is money . . . well except maybe one player, but we will get to that. Let’s start with the most obvious holdout.
Jadeveon Clowney, DL, Houston Texans
Clowney is playing on the franchise tag this year. He can’t sign a new deal even if he wanted to. There’s really no reason for him to show up. Who wants to practice anyway? Practice is hard and boring. It has no payoff. Clowney’s payoff should come next year, so holding out keeps training camp miles off his legs.
Clowney has earned Pro-Bowl honors the past three years. He has 29 sacks and 64 tackles for loss in his career which essentially includes a redshirt year his first season.
Melvin Gordon, RB, San Diego Chargers
Gordon is holding out and the Chargers are digging in. Like many other NFL teams, they are apparently only placing a high value on cheap or young running backs. Gordon wants a new deal because of his past performance. He’ll be just as good when he does get back on the field, but right now, it might be a long time until we see him in any lighting-bolt helmet.
Gordon is a two-time pro-bowler who has averaged nine touchdowns over the past three seasons. The Chargers seem to be fine with the idea of using Austin Ekeler and Justin Jackson as fill-ins until Gordon returns. The one thing the Chargers need to consider is that the Los Angeles market loves stars and Gordon is a more marketable name than the other two options on the roster. Speaking of running backs . . .
Ezekiel Elliot, RB, Dallas Cowboys
Jerry Jones loves Ezekiel Elliott, now his dedication will be tested. Elliott is holding out with two years left on his current deal. Of course, Elliott is the engine of the Cowboys offense and he’s about to maybe see contracts go to Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper. Neither of those players is as important to Dallas’ chances of success this season as Elliott is. It’s just poor timing. Plus, Elliott isn’t technically underpaid for a running back since he was drafted highly. He already has the fifth highest-cap hit for running backs in the NFL according to Spotrac.
Trent Williams, OT, Washington Redskins
Reportedly, one of the reasons Williams is holding out is because he didn’t like how Washington handled his health scare in the offseason. That makes this personal. Of course, some big money may smooth things over. If it is personal, maybe there is no amount of money in the world that will get Williams back to D.C.. The Redskins seem to be looking into back-up plans. If Williams is serious about not returning to the nation’s capital, a lot of teams could be interested in his service. He could fetch a pretty big return in the trade market.
Michael Thomas, WR, New Orleans Saints
The Saints probably need to pay Thomas seeing that he is the Saints receiving corps. New Orleans has done a great job making receivers stars. Marques Colston comes to mind. Thomas is big, talented, but not as flashy as some other big-name wide receivers. He still deserves a fat deal.
The numbers speak for themselves. Thomas has averaged 107 catches in his three years in the NFL. He has 23 touchdowns in his short career. He is now being spoken about in the same breath as Julio Jones, DeAndre Hopkins, and Odell Beckham Jr..
Yannick Ngakoue, DE, Jacksonville Jaguars
No defender selected in the 2016 draft has more sacks than Ngakoue, with 29.5. He was drafted in the third round, which means his entire contract was worth $3.8 million. That’s a bit less than other top-tier defensive ends. The problem is the Jaguars may have low-balled him.
Ngakoue may not get paid for a bit. If he plays out his rookie contract this year, he will probably get hit with the franchise tag next year. The franchise number for defensive ends came in at $17.1 million this year.
