Steven Jackson agrees to 3-year deal with Falcons
Free-agent running back Steven Jackson has agreed to a three-year deal with the Atlanta Falcons, per Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports.
The move makes sense and was widely speculated as his ideal landing spot when he voided the final season of his contract with the Rams.
As a replacement for Michael Turner, who was released earlier this offseason, Jackson is clearly an upgrade.
Despite the mileage on the tires, Jackson appears to have at least one more solid season left. Last year, Jackson rushed for 1,000-plus yards for the eighth consecutive season.
That said, no active running back has more carries than Jackson, who turns 30 years old in July. Jackson has 2,395 carries, which is 756 more carries than Turner has. In fact, only two active running backs are within 500 carries of Jackson: Willis McGahee (1,954) and Frank Gore (1,911).
In a much more explosive offense than his previous one in St. Louis, Jackson will face much fewer eight-men fronts with Julio Jones and Roddy White on the outside along with Tony Gonzalez at tight end.
Although he has only one season with double-digit touchdowns (13 in 2006), Jackson should have many more opportunities with the Falcons as Turner had scored double-digit touchdowns in each of the past five seasons.
When I update my fantasy running back rankings this weekend, I will move Jackson up several spots from where he was ranked last month (No. 21).
