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Not that either move was surprising, but the releases of Deuce McAllister and Fred Taylor less than 24 hours apart cause at least a little melancholy. McAllister spent eight years with the Saints and Taylor 11 years with the Jaguars, tenures that are impressive at the running back position in today's NFL.
In Jacksonville, Taylor's release certainly improves Maurice Jones-Drew's value, but I think some are overstating it a bit. Taylor wasn't getting any of the goal-line opportunities or receptions, and I'm not as willing as some to give all of Taylor's rushing attempts to Jones-Drew. Taylor averaged just under 200 carries over the last three seasons, compared to just under 180 for Jones-Drew. Taylor's 10-14 carries per game will likely be divvied up between Jones-Drew and another back, either fullback Greg Jones, second-year player Chauncey Washington, or somebody not yet on the roster. Jones-Drew should post better rushing numbers, but the team will want to be careful not to wear him down too much (he's listed at 5-foot-7, 208 pounds, but I'm not sure he's that tall).
McAllister's departure suggests one New Orleans' player could be very underrated by some owners -- and it's not Reggie Bush. Pierre Thomas should be a lock for half the carries at running back next year, if not more, and even that's assuming the Saints don't decide that Thomas is simply the better all-around player. Until week 10, Thomas had only one game with more than 10 touches on offense. He still finished the season with better numbers than Bush (who missed 6 games) in terms of combined rushing/receiving yards (909 to 844) and touchdowns (12 to 6). As a running back, in fact, Thomas has been more than a yard per carry better over his career (4.8) than Bush (3.7). Could be a very undervalued player in early drafts next summer.
As for the veterans themselves, the fact that Taylor is three years older than McAllister doesn't mean he's not the more intriguing player. He's got the derisive nickname ("Fragile Fred"), but Taylor has in fact missed a total of 12 games in the last 7 seasons, and averaged at least 4.6 yards per carry in five of those. He'll find his way into a committee situation for some team next season. McAllister, in contrast, has missed 28 games in the last four seasons, which included surgeries to repair torn ACLs in both knees. Finding work probably won't be quite as easy for McAllister, and a goal-line role (at best) seems most likely. Taylor might catch on with a new team -- and a good team -- in the next few weeks, while McAllister looks like a slightly longer shot to land a job much before the start of training camp.
--Andy Richardson
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