“Don’t this year give Saquon 400 touches when you gave your quarterback $40 million,” said Jones-Drew, who also worked in scouting after his retirement. “Throw the ball 40 times and see how that does for you. I believe you don’t pay the position. You pay the player.
“I was in the locker room when that’s happened. We had guys that were supposed to get paid and instead we paid guys outside the locker room, or a guy comes in and doesn’t pan out. And all of a sudden, I’m upset because this dude is making X amount and I have to carry the ball 30 times a game for us to have a chance to win. What about the guy you just paid? That is where things get tricky.”
“I am a firm believer in this: When your time is up to get a contract, you can’t settle,” Jones-Drew said. “The next guy needs to push and be above Christian McCaffrey, but you have to perform in a similar fashion. They have to push the envelope in order to make this work. “When I was playing, I had the No. 2 [highest] deal next to LaDainian Tomlinson, and it made sense,” he said. “Then came Stephen Jackson, Chris Johnson, Adrian Peterson. Guys were pushing the envelope. I hope Saquon plays through this year and then hits free agency, and I think he gets compensated at the highest point.”No. 1 overall draft pick Bryce Young will start in Game 1 for a Panthers franchise that has finished over .500 only once since 2015.
Tannehill , Wilson , Jones , Luck and Lawrence were allowed to throw at least 35 times in their NFL debuts. Not surprisingly, all five of those teams lost. Griffin started 1-0. “You walk away going, ‘If we can protect him, he can throw it all over the yard,’” Orlovsky said, “and I think their offensive line is solid.”