The 2023 NFL regular season begins on Thursday. September 7. With less than a month to go, several prominent running backs are still awaiting a contract for the new season. Ezekiel Elliott and Dalvin Cook each signed on Monday, August 14. Elliott signed a one-year deal worth up to $6 million with the New England Patriots, while Cook signed a one-year, $8.6 million deal with the New York Jets.
Best Remaining Free Agent RB
Leonard Fournette
Fournette will be heading into his seventh career season if he can land on an NFL roster. He was drafted fourth overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2017 NFL Draft. Fournette played three seasons with the Jags, with his best year coming in 2019, when he played in 15 games and had 1,152 yards and three touchdowns.
Fournette was released ahead of the 2020 season and signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Last year he played in 16 games and tallied 668 yards and three scores. He is the most talented running back left on the market and is only 28 years old.
Kareem Hunt
Hunt was a third round pick by the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2017 NFL Draft. He played in two seasons for the team, breaking out as a rookie. Hunt played in all 16 games and finished with 1,327 yards and eight touchdowns on 272 carries. He was released from the team and subsequently suspended from the NFL due to a video of him kicking a woman. After never being charged with a crime, he signed with the Cleveland Browns in 2019.
Hunt spent the past four seasons with the Browns, mainly backing up Nick Chubb. He was never able to recreate the success from his rookie year. Most recently, Hunt played in all 17 games last season and had 468 yards and three touchdowns on 123 carries. He added 210 yards and another score on 35 receptions.
Darrell Henderson Jr.
Henderson was a third round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams. He has played in 50 career games, totaling 1,742 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground. Henderson was waived by the Rams last November and signed by the Jaguars the next day. He never saw any game action as a member of the Jags and remains a free agent at age 25.
David Johnson
Johnson is the most experienced of the best available running backs. He was selected in the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals. After an injury to Chris Johnson, David Johnson took over as the starter and ran, pun intended, with the job. He finished the season with 1,239 yards and 16 touchdowns but wasn’t ever able to re-create that success.
He was involved in the infamous trade that sent wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins to the Cardinals ahead of the 2020 season. Johnson never re-captured his success for the Houston Texans and signed with the New Orleans Saints partway through last season. He finished with just 12 carries in five games.
Dontrell Hilliard
Hilliard went undrafted in 2018 but signed with the Cleveland Browns. He hasn’t ever been a focal point of an offense but has shown that he can retain value as a receiving back. Hilliard spent last season with the Tennessee Titans, filling in for Derrick Henry when he sparingly left the field.
Hilliard only tallied 22 carries but had 145 yards for a whopping 6.6 yards per carry. He added 177 yards and four touchdowns on 21 receptions.
Jaret Patterson
Patterson was undrafted in 2021 but signed with the Washington Commanders. In 17 games, he had 68 carries for 266 yards and two touchdowns. Washington then drafted Brian Robinson Jr., moving Patterson down the depth chart. He will turn 24 this season, so don’t be surprised if he winds up on a roster before the season begins.