Player Profile: Clinton Portis, Running Back, University of Miami (Fl) Age: 26 NFL Experience: 6 years Contract Remaining: 4 years 2008 Cap Number: $5,375,000 (post-restructuring) 2008 Release Fee: $9,586,000 (post-restructuring) Clinton Portis arrived here in one of the most bizarre deals (not necessarily bad) in the history of sports. Portis played two years in Denver, was a pro-bowler and a great value before being shipped off to the nation's captital to sign an 8 year contract worth upwards of 50 million dollars. Of course, this was before the days that Larry Johnson and Shaun Alexander started commanding 7 million dollars a year as a "hometown discount", shortly after years of insane workloads and not being able to produce there after. Despite being in the league a year longer than Johnson has, Portis is still younger that both those guys. He's younger than LaDainian Tomlinson, and he's younger than Brian Westbrook. Portis does, however, have a lot of mileage on his body. In 2005, a workload that spanned 18 games contributed to a shoulder injury the following preseason. Of course, the subluxation of his shoulder back in 2006 highlights one of the unique things that Portis does to keep his legs fresh throughout the year, and thats to land on his shoulders while being tackled. Portis' shoulders take an enormous beating every game not just because of the way he goes to the ground, but because of the pure physicality he uses in pass blocking. It should shock no one that the only injuries that have caused Clinton to miss significant time are upper-body related. Portis' game has much bigger issues right now than durability. For the first time as a Redskin, Portis was not the most valuable player on the offense. Behind a weak interior offensive line, Portis broke very few runs over ten yards. He struggled to break tackles that, earlier in his career, he would have just ran past. He struggled to get out of the backfield as the pursuit of the backside ends constantly closed holes for Portis as he tried to remain patient. Most importantly, Portis fumbled the ball 6 times this year (and that doesn't include a bottched exchange on his that was charged to Jason Campbell). Only Reggie Bush had more fumbles this season. The lack of big play production, combined with a year-long case of fumbleitis, took it's toll on Portis's numbers in the rushing game, and also on the Redskins rushing totals. While the Redskins offensive line ranked in the middle of the pack in Adjusted Line Yards (a partial credit to Portis' ability to fight for yardage), the Redskins running game ranked 23rd in DVOA, far below average. For the first time since 2004, Portis ranked below average in rushing DVOA in 2007. If there was one flaw in the style of the Gibbs-Saunders playcalling combination, it's that despite the struggles of Portis and of his line, he led all running backs in carries this season, with 325. Now, 325 carries isn't a crazy-high workload or anything, but it is a lot of wasted carries on a player who is struggling to hold onto the football while gaining big yardage. For the sake of argument, lets say that Portis had only run the ball 225 times. On those 100 other plays, the Redskins threw the football with Jason Campbell/Todd Collins. In this scenario, we can estimate that the Redskins would have produced roughly 250 total yards more than they did, thrown roughly two more interceptions, scored 2-3 more touchdowns, and saved a fumble or two. Arugably, this improvement in offensive production could have earned them--realistically--about one more win. Based on the above, it's safe to say that the Redskins' best option on offense in 2007 was not Clinton Portis. With a new coaching staff now, this offense is going to be making a transition away from Clinton Portis as the focal point, and towards Jason Campbell. This move will suit #26 just fine, as it should allow his season-long workload to stay under 300 carries over 16 games for the first time as a Redskin. If this decreased workload causes the big run to return and allows him to focus on other parts of his game such as receiving and blocking, so much the better. Portis is locked up through 2011, and will be the highest paid player on the team over the next four years. It's important to remember that we are talking about a guy who--while he does have 1710 carries and 7715 yards in his career--is only 26 years old and will turn 27 just prior to opening day. The Redskins can count on Portis throughout the length of his deal, as he will only be 30 when it expires. The mistake here would be if the front office went out of their way to assume that he should finish his career in Washington. Portis does have an outside chance at being the all-time leading rusher, as at Portis' age, Emmitt Smith had only 8956 yards, only about 1200 ahead of where Portis is right now. Smith also never gained 1400 yards in a single season after the age of 26. His career 4.5 yards per attempt is higher than Emmitt's 4.2, but it's important to remember as Emmitt chased Payton's record between 1999 and 2002, his Y/A declined incremetally from 4.2 to 3.8 over that time. The Cowboys went 5-11 every year from 2000-2002, so clearly the offense wasn't producing how it needed to be. Becuase of this phenemenon, Portis' time in Washington could end before he's ready to call it quits. There is nothing wrong with letting one of the better players in team history walk if you can find someone to do his job better for less money. Right now, he may be the face of the franchise, but as an NFL running back, Portis is reaching the backside of his prime. If he doesn't put together a pro bowl season in 2008, he may never reach the Pro Bowl as a Redskin. At the end of the day, this is Jason Campbell's team. The face of the franchise is just along for the ride.