Odds of Melvin Gordon Missing Week 1 Because of Holdout Set at +155; Zeke’s Odds of Playing Are Much Better
By Robert Duff in NFL Football
Updated: March 25, 2020 at 2:24 pm EDTPublished:
- A sportsbook is offering +155 odds that Chargers RB Melvin Gordon will miss Week 1 due to a contract dispute
- Though he says he prefers to stay in LA, Gordon requested a trade
- The odds of Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott missing Week 1 are much longer at +400
Melvin Gordon is saying one thing but doing another. The Los Angeles Chargers running back is in a contract dispute with the team. He insists his preference is to remain with the Chargers. Meanwhile, he’s requested a trade.
Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott is also in a contract dispute with his club, and that’s led a sportsbook to create prop bets on the pair of Pro Bowlers playing in Week 1 (Sep. 8th).
Odds Melvin Gordon Misses Week 1 of 2019
| Player | Yes Odds | No Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Melvin Gordon (Chargers) | +155 | -220 |
*Odds taken 07/16/19
Gordon Looks To Get Paid
Gordon, 26, is coming off his best year in the NFL. He ran for 885 yards, averaging a career-best 5.1 yards per carry, and had 10 touchdowns, despite missing four games.
However, 16 running backs rambled for more yardage than him in 2018. Seven went for better yards-per-carry numbers. And five found the end zone more often than Gordon broke the plain.
Melvin Gordon missed 4 games last season: vs. TEN, at PIT, vs. CIN, at KC. Chargers won all four.
— Adam Levitan (@adamlevitan) July 12, 2019
This season, he’ll earn $5.6 million in the final year of his rookie contract. While pronouncing a desire to remain a Charger, Gordon is also demanding to get paid.
Gordon’s agent Fletcher Smith insists that, though his client is signed for another year, he won’t report to training camp without a new deal in place.
Odds Ezekiel Elliott Misses Week 1 of 2019
| Player | Yes Odds | No Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Ezekiel Elliott (Cowboys) | +400 | -700 |
*Odds taken 07/16/19
Zeke Playing From Position Of Strength
Elliott is coming off a season during which he ran for an NFL-leading 1,434 yards. It was his second NFL rushing title.
2️⃣1️⃣ headed your way.@EzekielElliott | #OTAs pic.twitter.com/tUMjBePiZw
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) May 29, 2019
Dak Prescott’s numbers at quarterback are pedestrian. He was 15th in the NFL in yards (3,885) and 16th in TD passes (22). The Cowboys clearly recognize they are doomed to fail absent a powerful running game.
The team publicly acknowledge that they will ultimately pay Elliott in the range of the four-year, $57-million pact the Los Angeles Rams gave Todd Gurley last year.
Set to earn $3.8 million this season, Elliott’s giving off mixed messages about whether he’ll hold out of training camp.
The Best Bets on Gordon and Zeke Sitting Out?
Gordon was among the RBs cheering on Le’Veon Bell’s year-long holdout last season.
Last fall SI spent a game day with Melvin Gordon, and when asked by his dad, he shared his thoughts on Le'Veon Bell sitting out last season 👇 pic.twitter.com/YP6VYqp2mb
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) July 11, 2019
But if it was about making a point, the point that may have been proven is that even elite running backs are expendable. Minus Bell, the Pittsburgh Steelers did just fine handing the ball off to James Conner and his $578,000 base salary.
Eventually, Bell signed a four-year, $52.5 million deal with the New York Jets for less than his original offer from the the Steelers.
"We're devalued" – Melvin Gordon on the state of RBs.
NFL's most expensive RBs
1. Gurley: replaced by CJ Anderson after injury
2. Johnson: missed 15 of last 32 games w injury
3. Freeman: missed 16 of last 32 games w injury
4. McCoy: avg'd 3.7 YPC last 2 years…but go pay RBs
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) July 12, 2019
Just one of the top-five rushers from as recently as the 2015 NFL season, Gurley, still remains with his team. Two of them – Chris Ivory and Darren McFadden – are out of the NFL.
Dallas will get a deal done with Zeke. The Chargers, however, aren’t known for paying people. In 2016, top draft pick DE Joey Bosa was allowed to sit until the brink of the regular season before a deal was reached.
Will Gordon opt to play hardball? By choosing to go that route, he’d be a good bet to miss some football.
Best Bet: Melvin Gordon Misses Week 1 (+155)
Sports Writer
An industry veteran, Bob literally taught the course on the history of sports at Elder College. He has worked as a Sports Columnist for Postmedia, appeared as a guest on several radio stations, was the Vice President of the Society For International Hockey Research in Ontario, and written 25 books.
