Should Chargers go after Ahmad Bradshaw?
By Matt Welch
December 30, 2012; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw (44) is chased by Philadelphia Eagles corner back Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (23) during the first quarter of an NFL game at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
With the recent release of Giants’ running back Ahmad Bradshaw, rumors have been sparked all across the web. Not too long ago, I said that the Chargers should run a two-back system to take some stress off of Ryan Matthews. Now with a guy like Bradshaw on the table, should the Chargers go after him?
At first glance, yes, it sounds like a great move. But I’m going to have to say no on this one.
First of all, Bradshaw is injury prone. He recently just had a screw replaced in his foot and will be out at least ten weeks. Now that won’t affect him come training camp but we’ve seen this before. When guys like Bradshaw get ankle and foot injuries, it doesn’t end well. I mean, he IS a running back. Even with battling injuries he produced last season, rushing for over 1,000 yards. The Giants say they released him due to salary-cap issues but if Tom Coughlin thought that he was going to keep producing numbers, he would’ve most likely kept him around. As fans. there’s always something that we don’t know.
Second, Bradshaw fumbles the ball quite a bit. There was once a time that he was even benched in favor of Brandon Jacobs because of his fumbling. Bradshaw has said that it’s because he’s a physical back and he fights for yardage. Both of those things are good but in the end they mean nothing if you lose the ball. The Chargers don’t need that in their backfield.
Lastly, Bradshaw isn’t a two-back system kind of guy. Think back to the situation with Jacobs. They were a great one-two punch for New York. But once Bradshaw started to get the majority of the load, it seemed to go to his head. When he was benched because of ball security issues, he wasn’t a very happy camper. If he’s going to be injury prone, he can’t really be trusted to carry the load all by himself.
If Bradshaw can overcome his pride and share the workload with another back, he could be a great fit in San Diego. He’d bring back the physicality that the Bolts have been lacking in the backfield. But I don’t see it happening.