The Carolina Panthers weren’t going to punish NFL teams on the field in 2011 so they decided to hurt the opposition in another way. Jerry Richardson foolishly gave DeAngelo Williams a five-year, 43 million dollar contract with 21 million guaranteed. Williams is a talented running back, but he’s not worth that much money at all and now better backs are going to want just as much if not more than Williams got.
The Tennessee Titans are already suffering the aftermath of the deal with Chris Johnson’s holdout. Like Johnson, Adrian Peterson is a superior halfback to Williams and will make the Minnesota Vikings break the bank to keep him. The San Francisco 49ers are the latest victims of the Panthers’ joke of a contract offer as Frank Gore wants a long-term deal.
According to NBC, Gore wants as much money as Williams and deservedly so as the former Miami Hurricane is in the final year of his contract. Both backs are 28 years old and injury prone, but Gore’s resume is far more impressive. Gore has recorded four 1,000-yard rushing seasons and annually catches over 40 balls a year while Williams only boasts two 1,000-yard campaigns and has caught over 30 balls just once in his career.
Gore doesn’t deserve a five-year, 43 million dollar deal with 21 million guaranteed, not all at considering he’s about to turn 30, but since Williams got it, now Gore has to get it. And because of that, the 49ers are left with two options, overpay their star back or trade him away. Since Gore took over the starting job in 2006, the San Francisco is 4-6 (40%) without him and 29-41 (41.4%) with him so technically, their win-loss totals over the years haven’t been drastically affected by him being in the lineup.
Now, I’m not denying that Gore is a great talent, but as a rebuilding team, the 49ers should just trade him because by the time they’re ready to contend again, he’ll be washed up anyway.
