I recall very vividly when Williams and Johnson left Carolina and Tennessee, respectively - everyone said no to both because they were too old and too cooked.
Williams left Carolina having only played in 6 games and only rushing for 219 yards and 3.5 ypc in his last season there. He was 31.
He went to Pittsburgh the next season and almost rushed for 1,000 yards, scored 11 TD's and averaged 4.5 ypc.
Chris Johnson left Tennessee and everyone said he was toast. He only averaged 3.9 ypc his last season there and the general consensus was that Tennessee had run him ragged and the wheels had fallen off. He went to the Jets the next season and rushed for over 600 yards at 4.3 ypc. The season after that in Arizona, he rushed for over 800 yards at 4.2 ypc. He was 30 years old.
There are plenty of other examples of this over the years as well that prove you don't know as much as you think you do - but these were the most recent that came to mind.
Did anyone actually watch Jonathan Stewart play last year or are you just basing your criticism off of some statistic? Because last I checked, their prized rookie RB that a lot of people wanted here only averaged 3.7 yard per carry. Statistics don't amount to anything on their own. Stewart didn't look done to me. Was he the Jonathan Stewart of 2008? Of course not. But if I was in a situation where I needed to get a first down or punch it into the end zone and I'm staring at Darkwa or Stewart - I'm giving the ball to Stewart every time.
You can pull up the Free agency charts on spotrac and point to which RB's you like more because they're younger or faster if you wish - but you don't know how much money they want, if they even wanted to play here (see Andrew Norwell and remember what a mess this team is.)
Stewart is a good stop-gap signing. He was signed to be part of a rotation and to get the tough yards. There is good potential here for more than that. There are plenty of examples of these moves working out. I remember people saying the same thing about Thomas Jones and he was productive until he was 33 years old with the Chiefs. Ladanian Tomlinson is another example with the Jets.
Sure, it doesn't always work out and there will always be points for criticism. Nothing is ever gauranteed. But there's not a lot of risk in it either.
I like this signing and I'm interested in seeing how it plays out. The offensive line is still the high priority. Stewart isn't the sexy move and isn't going to save anything - but this is still a quality addition.
Hope this turns out like the examples you gave instead of old Hershel, old Dorsey, old Brian Mitchell, et al.
He's a RB who is now 30 years old and has now not been able to even manage 4 YPC in 2 consecutive years.
I'm glad he's a pro's pro and will bring leadership - I think he can still pound between the tackles a bit.
There's just not a whole lot to be excited about otherwise. He's clearly on the down slope now and doesn't have much burst or giddyup.
I don't think he'll be anywhere close to as productive as DW was when he filled in for an injured Lev Bell a few years ago.
Chris Johnson also had a gear that Stewart hasn't been able to touch his entire career.
He's a RB who is now 30 years old and has now not been able to even manage 4 YPC in 2 consecutive years.
I'm glad he's a pro's pro and will bring leadership - I think he can still pound between the tackles a bit.
There's just not a whole lot to be excited about otherwise. He's clearly on the down slope now and doesn't have much burst or giddyup.
I don't think he'll be anywhere close to as productive as DW was when he filled in for an injured Lev Bell a few years ago.
Chris Johnson also had a gear that Stewart hasn't been able to touch his entire career.
I don't disagree with anything in this post, but a lot of the negatives are mitigated by the fact that it's highly unlikely he's being signed to be the lead back. I'd actually be surprised if he ends up with more carries here than he had last year with Carolina. In a supporting role his durability and declining explosiveness are less important. His 3rd down goaline TD running through Linval Joseph was a better short yardage run than any back we've had since Jacobs. If all he does is improve our short yardage package and pass pro it's a solid signing.
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Look how many times Stewart has actually made it through a full season in his career.
He's a RB who is now 30 years old and has now not been able to even manage 4 YPC in 2 consecutive years.
I'm glad he's a pro's pro and will bring leadership - I think he can still pound between the tackles a bit.
There's just not a whole lot to be excited about otherwise. He's clearly on the down slope now and doesn't have much burst or giddyup.
I don't think he'll be anywhere close to as productive as DW was when he filled in for an injured Lev Bell a few years ago.
Chris Johnson also had a gear that Stewart hasn't been able to touch his entire career.
I don't disagree with anything in this post, but a lot of the negatives are mitigated by the fact that it's highly unlikely he's being signed to be the lead back. I'd actually be surprised if he ends up with more carries here than he had last year with Carolina. In a supporting role his durability and declining explosiveness are less important. His 3rd down goaline TD running through Linval Joseph was a better short yardage run than any back we've had since Jacobs. If all he does is improve our short yardage package and pass pro it's a solid signing.
To me, it'll depend what else we do. If this is what we go into the season with @ RB and Stewart is the starter Week 1, I'm going to be disappointed.
If we draft Barkley or someone else, I'll be more on board with it.
The money doesn't bother me. I like JStew the person. I just don't see much left in the tank for JStew the player.
He's missed a LOT of games due to injury. That stuff takes a toll after a while and the last couple years it has looked evident on the field.