The running back in the game of football does not have a long shelf life.

In the NFL, many experts will tell you running backs are a dime a dozen. If your team is in need of one it’s like changing a light bulb – inserting a new one & throwing out the old one without missing a beat. In seven rounds of the NFL draft, any team should be able to find a decent option for their back field. The running back is like a gallon of milk, sour cream or cheese. They expire quickly even if refrigerated with a good offensive line. Any carry could be a devastating knee injury. Any catch out of the back field could be the end of a running back’s career. It’s just football 101.

When you can run the ball in football, your team has a great chance to win the game. Running the football can wear out the opposing defenses. Some running backs get better as the game goes on. Bruising running backs can make an opposing defense feel pain.

This year veteran running backs in the NFL made a difference. Look what Derrick Henry did for the Baltimore Ravens. Adding a power back with the legs of Lamar Jackson, who’s going to get the ball? Then if you are defense you gear up to stop the run with ten men in a box. That’s when defense get gashed with the passing game. The best offensives in the leagues are well-balanced which means they can run the ball when they want to and pass the ball when they want to. The play action pass worked well in Detroit because of the two-headed monster the Lions had at the running back position. For the Eagles it was Saquon Barkley who ran the Eagles all the way to the Superbowl. Barkely was what the Chiefs defense keyed on in the Superbowl which opened up other doors for the Eagles offense. What if the Bills continued to run James Cook down the throats of the Chiefs defense in the AFC Championship game? Could the have Bills prevailed in that game? You could say Henry, Barkley, and the emergence of Cook for each of their teams helped them win games and go deep into post-season. Barkley and Henry have been in the league for years and they contributed to helping new teams rise up in the league. Do you still believe running backs are a dime a dozen? What about the ones that held out the next season looking for riches after a good season? That’s where James Cook comes into play after another great season in Buffalo, He has made his demands and wants 15 million a season. He has wiped his social media clean of anything to do with his current team, the Bills. We do not know what is going to happen here. Will Cook hold out? Will Buffalo cave in on their star running back? I constructed my list of crybaby running backs that held out or just were some kind of pain in the rear for their respective team or teams. Starting with number ten counting down to the worst all-time number 1 in our books for the biggest jackass that carries his demands off the field.

#10. DALVIN COOK

I will start off with James Cook’s brother, Dalvin. Giving bad advice!!! Before James went on social media with his new contract demands to be paid a few days ago, his brother was saying this while regular season was going on. Dalvin has played 8 years in the NFL and had some great seasons with the Vikings. I’m sure he made his demands known in Minnesota before they were done with him. Why don’t you worry about your own career instead of your brother’s? That is my question. In two games this season, Dalvin had 8 carries for the Cowboys for that whopping 20 yards. Then in 2023 playing for the Jets and Ravens he had 67 carries for 214 yards. That averages out to 3.2 yards per carry. Sorry Dalvin, that is not good enough in the NFL. Why don’t you keep your mouth shut and let your brother have a nice career without these outbursts?

#9. CURTIS ENIS

Curtis Enis was a first round bust in the 1998 NFL draft selected in the first round number 5 overall. Enis played his college ball at Penn State and had a nice career running the football for the Nittany Lions. Enis and his representation did not like the contract the Bears were dishing out. This instead of coming to some common ground and hammering out a contract before he even played a game in the NFL. He held out 25 days of important training camp. The NFL was not as easy as the college gridiron. Enis learned the hard way & lasted only three seasons tallying up 456 carries for 1,497 yards averaging 3.3 yards per carry. He did have 4 rushing touchdowns. Who really needs training camp? Practicing is for suckers.

#8. CEDRIC BENSON

Another Chicago Bears running back that held out before he ever took a carry in the NFL. Cedric Benson was the first round pick of the Bears in 2005 in the NFL draft 4th overall out of Texas University. His rookie season he was behind the eight ball as he only played in 9 games making 1 start. He carried the ball 67 times for only 272 rushing yards. Many of the players in the locker room did not like him because of the hold out. He played 8 years in the league with the Bears and Bengals. It took Benson until his fifth year to have his first 1,000 yard rushing season. It was 2009 and he was in his second season playing for the Bengals. He would play in 96 NFL games for his career and averaged 3.8 yards per carry when he finally hung up the spikes for good. I believe if he did not hold out his rookie season, he would have had a better career overall.

#7. ERIC DICKERSON

Eric Dickerson is a Hall of Fame running back as he played in 146 NFL games and tallied up 2,996 rushes for 13,259 yards averaging 4.4 yards per carry. He had 90 rushing touchdowns. Why is he on this list? He had two hold outs in his 11 year career, one with the Rams and the other with the Colts. He got his money and after the first hold out, played well. During his second hold out with the Colts it was at the end of his career as he tried to bank back to back solid campaigns. He would miss five games in 1990 holding out. In Dickerson’s last 4 seasons in the league, he would never reach 1,000 yards again in one season. I will mention this season when Saquon Barkley should have broken Dickerson’s single season with the most rushing yards in one season and he griped about it. Dickerson said it would have taken Barkley 17 games to break his record which he did it in 16. Barkley did not play the last game of regular season as the Eagles rested him for the Superbowl run. Let’s not forget that Dickerson broke OJ Simpson’s record in 16 games. OJ set that record before in 14 games.

#6. JOHN RIGGINS

John Riggins sat out the entire 1980 season after two back to back solid seasons of 1,000 yards. Riggins, like Dickerson, is a Hall of Fame running back. Riggins played 14 seasons in the NFL with the Jets and Redskins. He played in 175 NFL games as he ran the ball 2,916 times for 11,352 yards while scoring 104 rushing touchdowns. When Riggins came back in 1981, he did not play like his old self. He went back to back years without hitting the 1,000 yard rushing mark. In 1983 & ’84 he found his old self as he had back to back solid seasons by getting over 1,000 rushing yards. His last year in the game he missed the 1,000 yard mark. He finished his career averaging 3.9 yards per carry. If he played in 1980, I believe that average would have been better.

#5.STEVEN JACKSON

We have another Ram on the list, this time St.Louis. Steven Jackson played in 160 games in the NFL. In 12 seasons Jackson tallied up 2,764 rushes for 11,438 rushing yards and found the end zone 69 times. In 2008, Jackson felt like he was underpaid and wanted a bigger deal so he held out for 27 days during the pre-season. The Rams caved in with a 6 year deal. In 2008 he would miss 4 games with a thigh injury but still get to 1,000 yards. It was the second year in a row he missed 4 games. In 2009 he turned back into a running back beast with 1,400 yards on the ground. Then his numbers started to drop each season after being paid a hefty contract. By 2012 he gained 1,045 yards. In 2013 he went to Atlanta and only gained 543 yards in 12 games. He would never again hit the 1,000 yard mark after two years as a Falcon and then tried to latch on to the Patriots only to play two games as his career came to an end.

#4.CHRIS JOHNSON

In 2009 Chris Johnson ran over the entire NFL. He had 358 carries for 2,006 yards in his second year in the NFL. He averaged 5.9 yards per carry scoring 14 touchdowns. In 2010 Johnson would run for 1,300 yards on the ground. By 2011 Johnson was holding out for more money. That year Johnson would not miss any regular season games but ended up only running for 1,048 yards, his lowest, at the time, of his career. He played six seasons in Tennessee and left town getting 1,000 or more yards each season he played in Nashville. His final 4 seasons, one with the Jets & three with the Cardinals, he would never hit that 1,000 yard mark again. He played 10 seasons, gained 9,651 rushing yards, scored 55 touchdowns on the ground, and finished his career averaging 4.5 yards per carry which is impressive. Once again these guys’ hold out to get paid meant their number dwindled. Plus, it’s wear and tear on their bodies.

#3. LARRY JOHNSON

Let’s go with our second Johnson. This time Larry Johnson. Larry had back to back seasons with the Chiefs of 1,700 or more yards in 2005 & ’06. Larry thought he should hold out in 2007. He finished his hold out and would miss 8 games in 2007 with a bum foot. He played in 8 games and ran for only 559 yards averaging 3.5 yards per carry. In 2006 he averaged 4.3 yards per carry. In 2005 he averaged 5.2 yards per carry which is insane. After the 2007 season concluded, Johnson finished his 5th season in the NFL. He would never get to a 1,000 yard rushing season again after those back to back 1,700 seasons he had. After the Chiefs he played for the Bengals, Redskins, and Dolphins to conclude 10 seasons in the NFL.

#2. JAMAL ANDERSON

In 1998 Jamal Anderson had a monster season for the Falcons. He rushed the rock 410 times for 1,846 rushing yards and scored 14 touchdowns on the ground. He needed to bank from that season so he held out. In 1999 he played in two games and tore his ACL during a Monday night game. He was done for the year. In 2000 he did come back and ran for 1,024 yards. By 2002 he only played in 3 games as his career came to an end after 8 seasons.

#1. LE’VEON BELL

Le’Veon Bell was one of many head cases the Pittsburgh Steelers seem to have collected over the years. After Bell’s fifth year as a Steeler, he decided to sit out the entire 2018 season. In 2017 Bell had a great year running the ball 321 times as tallied up 1,291 yards on the ground with 9 touchdowns. He came off back to back seasons of over 1,200 yards. The Steelers released Bell and the Jets gave him a monster contract in 2019, 4 years worth 53.5 million to average 3.3 yards a carry in New York. By 2020 Bell ended up with the Chiefs as he split the covid season with New York and Kansas City. Then in 2021 he played for another two teams, the Ravens and Buccaneers. That was the last season in the NFL for Bell who did 8 seasons total. After Pittsburgh he never gained another 1,000 yard season.

James Cook is getting better each season with the Bills. As the former Georgia Bulldog just completed his third season in the NFL as he’s still playing his rookie contract. Cook played in 16 games this season and rushed for only 1,009 yards on the ground. He averaged 4.9 yards per carry which is impressive. He can also be a threat in the passing game. He rushed for 16 touchdowns during the regular season. He showed his ability to get in the end zone in the post-season. In three seasons in the NFL he is averaging 4.9 yards per carry as he has racked up 2,638 yards and 20 rushing touchdowns. The Bills should have beaten the Chiefs in the AFC championship game. The Bills with Josh Allen and James Cook and all the others they have means this is one of the best offenses in the NFL. The Bills have a great offensive line. However do the Bills need Cook like the Eagles needed Saquon Barkley this season? Do the Bills open up their wallet and pay this guy what he demands? Running backs are a dime a dozen. Cook is a guy the Bills have not had since Thurman Thomas carried the load at running back in the 1990’s. You would think the Bills organization would come to some terms with Cook to make this work. You wonder will Cook hold out if he does not get what he wants? He could turn out to be one of these guys on this list. Something about running backs that hold out and get what they want backfires on both parties. This is still a rookie deal the Bills and Cook have going. The brother Cook Dalvin is just pouring gasoline on the fire. The Bills could spend money to help their defense or get Allen a receiver. This should be about winning a Superbowl and taking this team to the next level. Running backs are valuable, just ask the Eagles. The Bills have a decision looming this off-season. Can they replace Cook with another talented back out of the draft? Can Cook come to his senses. I get running backs can end their career on one play because this is a violent game. What happen to the Walter Payton’s and the Barry Sanders’ playing the team concept as money will come. It’s not like these running backs are not making money either. Stay tuned for more developments on James Cook’s future and the Bills.