Although the Baltimore Ravens remain favorites to re-sign running back Justin Forsett, he’s obviously picking up a lot of interest around the league, especially from the Washington Redskins, maybe going in a different direction in terms of their offensive focus compared to recent years.
Forsett, 29, had a career year in 2014 with the Ravens, rushing for 1266 yards on 235 attempts and scoring 8 touchdowns, all career highs for a player that served as a backup during his career with the Seahawks, Texans and Jaguars, pretty much coming out of nowhere to make the absence of Ray Rice last season forgettable, probably delivering a lot more than Rice would have at that point of his career.
Forsett might be 29, but he has very little mileage on his legs which means he’s not washed up, not even close, compared to other running backs his age. The interesting thing about the Redskins interest in him has to do with Alfred Morris, who has yet to miss a game in his three years with the team, rushing for more than 1000 yards in each season.
After failing with Robert Griffin III (although they’re not giving up on him, not yet) and not getting what they’d hoped for from Kirk Cousins, the Redskins might be heading towards a run-heavy approach, even though that’s not exactly what their current head coach is all about. It makes sense to go that way considering that Griffin seems to get injured every other game, and might never be the same in terms of his throwing.
It’s also safe to assume that Morris might be in need of some relief. He has rushed for 3962 yards through his first three seasons on 876 carries. Morris and Marshawn Lynch are the only two running backs to carry the ball at least 265 times in each of the past three seasons. He might only be 26, but running backs go out and burn out quickly. Having some backup and insurance for him, especially in the form of a 1000-yard rusher isn’t such a bad idea.
The Ravens are all about getting younger, and they don’t have a whole lot of cap space going into next season. While Forsett isn’t going to command a huge asking price, they’re not exactly in a position to win a bidding war for a player who is going to generate some interest from teams that need some help in the backfield in 2015.