Every week, the NFL delivers a remarkable range of stories. I like to use this spot to encapsulate that broad expanse here.
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The Good: Star Running Backs Happy After Breaking the Bank
The Colts and Jonathan Taylor agreed to terms on a two-year, $44 million extension on Thursday. The deal reportedly has a minimum value of $47 million and includes $39 million guaranteed -- the third-largest deal for a running back in NFL history.
Taylor's deal came two days after Falcons star Bijan Robinson's record-breaking extension -- the latest big contract in the running back market.
That left Jahmyr Gibbs waiting -- and holding in -- in Detroit.
He didn't have to wait long -- and neither did we.
Gibbs signed a three-year, $67.5 million deal later Thursday afternoon. His new contract could be worth up to $75.75 million and includes $51.5 million guaranteed, now making him the NFL's highest-paid running back.
Gibbs, who is being drafted with the first pick overall in fantasy drafts, set a career high with 320 touches and played the most snaps of his three-year career in 2025.
This year, the arrival of new OC Drew Petzing and the departure of RB David Montgomery position Gibbs to do even more. He is one of the NFL's most dangerous playmakers in one of its most prolific offenses. Gibbs returning to work will lend further confidence in his Average Draft Position (ADP).
In Atlanta, Robinson's three-year extension is worth up to $75 million and made him the highest-paid running back in NFL history -- for two days.
Robinson, 24, led the NFL in scrimmage yards last season (2,298) and was fourth in rushing yards (1,478). His 93-yard rushing touchdown against the Los Angeles Rams was the longest in the NFL last season.
He's been going second overall in drafts this year -- behind only Gibbs -- and Robinson's ADP remains rock solid with this new deal.
In Indianapolis, Taylor is now under contract with the Colts through the 2028 season.
He was entering the final year of the previous deal he signed in 2023, following a lengthy standoff and hold-in with the Colts that ultimately led to a three-year extension.
The 27-year-old rightly wanted some security after the heavy workload he has been asked to carry -- Taylor has carried the ball more than 300 times in each of the past two seasons. Only Baltimore's Derrick Henry has more rushes over that stretch.
Having three of the top fantasy backs heading into the 2026 season feeling secure, confident in their teams' commitment, and, most of all, happy is very good for us.
