Austin Ekeler Shares Passionate Stance on Preserving Running Back Position

Ekeler is doing all he can to take care of himself and his fellow running backs

The running back position. It's been a hot topic this past offseason, and Chargers star running back Austin Ekeler has been at the forefront of it all. Ekeler requested a trade earlier this offseason due to his unhappiness with his contract and how he's outperforming it. 

Ekeler has been the guy to lead the charger (no pun intended) on the livelihood and respect of the running back position. The 28-year-old organized a running back meeting this past weekend; he shared with the media how he wants to continue spreading the message and being educated on the issue. 

"We wanted to get on that call because we wanted to hear everyone's story," Ekeler told Dragon. "It's not just a one-time call. We are gonna have more of those and continue to get more people on. We just had that to kind of break the ice and bring awareness. There are gonna be more calls and more education on what's going on, and how we can combat it and decide if it's worth combatting in the future. ... It's educating right now. That is the next step in my eyes."

(via NFL.com)

He's undoubtedly been the most vocal and reasonably so. The running back position is not dead, and it may never be, but the desire isn't there. It could be discouraging when you see superstar guys in that position not getting the money they warranted. 

It's becoming an expendable position where teams can afford to get rid of their star running back, even if they are the best player and still thrive. Because of this, teams aren't that high on the position, meaning they'll draft one later in the rounds or bring in an undrafted player like Ekeler. We've seen it work for teams as of late, and that's the route many teams seem to be going, which is not a good thing for players who want to get paid when you low drafted players making an impact. 

Ekeler also expressed how the franchise tag is not helping, and he wants to value and protect the top guys and others who deserve the money. 

"It's frustrating for us as running backs. Just because we know the value that we bring to the team. I'm not saying that every running back is a top-value guy that should be getting paid, but especially the guys who just got franchise-tagged -- Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs and

Tony Pollard

. The impact that those guys have on their team is immense," Ekeler told Dragon. "That's why we are frustrated. You want us to be this pivotal point in your organization; however, you're not gonna compensate us for that. You're gonna come out and franchise tag us."

"I want to attack it. I think it's detrimental to us as players. You can look at any of the statistics. Our average career is three years. If you are fortunate enough to be in a position to have success, and now you're able to be locked in for more on one year, one year, one year and not have to share any of that risk with the organization, then it's just not a great situation," Ekeler said. "It's very one-sided."

(via NFL.com)

It may be a never-ending battle, but that won't stop Austin from fighting for what he deserves, even if it costs him.

The guys deserve their money, but how the game is going isn't helping their cause.