Running back Austin Ekeler has signed a $24.5 million deal with the Los Angeles Chargers. The deal keeps Ekeler with the team through 2023. Ekeler has played all three seasons of his career thus far with the Chargers.
Chargers and restricted free-agent RB Austin Ekeler reached agreement on a four-year, $24.5 million deal that includes $15 million guaranteed, sources tell ESPN.@camRONweiss of @DynamicSportGrp and @Chargers’ EVP Ed McGuire have been negotiating the deal since early January.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 6, 2020
Austin Ekeler Back With Los Angeles Chargers
Austin Ekeler had a massive season in 2019. He’d already been known for being a good change of pace runner and receiving back. However, 2019 saw him cross 1,000 scrimmage yards for the first time and then some (1,550 in total). He finished with 557 rushing yards and three touchdowns, and 92 receptions for 993 yards and eight receiving touchdowns.
Due to various injuries, he became essentially the de facto #3 wide receiver for the Chargers down the stretch of the season. He was also the primary runner during the first four weeks while Melvin Gordon was holding out, but he kept getting carries due to the occasionally poor play of Gordon upon his return. In Week 14, he had a 100/100 game, which included an 84-yard receiving touchdown. This was only the fourth game with both 100 yards running and receiving of the decade.
Ekeler played football in high school at Eaton, Colorado. He then played football in college with Western State Colorado from 2013 to 2016. During his time there, he had a total of 55 rushing touchdowns. He ultimately went undrafted by the NFL in 2017 and later signed with the Chargers. He made a good impression in his rookie year, with his very first carry as a runner being a 35-yard touchdown.
2018 saw his role increase as he finished with 958 yards from scrimmage and six total touchdowns. He might have gotten a 1,000 scrimmage-yards season that year if he hadn’t missed two games due to injury, but he made up for that and then some during the 2019 season.
Thus far in his career, Ekeler has 1,371 rushing yards and eight touchdowns, along with 158 receptions for 1,676 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
