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Free agent running back Marlon Mack will re-sign with his old team, as the Indianapolis Colts have signed him, per NFL Network’s Tom Pellisero.
Mack kicked off 2020 atop the Indianapolis Colts running back depth chart, but tore his Achilles in the season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars after tallying just four carries for 26 yards. That injury paved the way for Jonathan Taylor to take over as the Colts’ bell cow. Mack ran for a career-high 1,091 yards and eight scores in 2019, but won’t come near that total with Taylor as the lead back in 2021.
The running back free agency market must be dead, as Mack would surely rather have landed on a team with more of a chance to start. And he’s making just $2 million for one year, per Pellisero. Knowing the Colts, he will see enough work to be a factor, even with Taylor in the lead. And coming off a season ending injury, he’ll likely need to prove himself to get a contract somewhere in 2022.
Will Mack’s presence hurt Taylor’s workload? Probably, but Frank Reich has no qualms with a three-headed backfield as it is, and Taylor was always going to have some risk of being part of a committee, just like most backs in the league.