Two star backs, same standoff, no new deals yet

Training camp is supposed to be about installs and depth-chart battles. Instead, the two best young running backs in football are on the sideline in matching contract limbo. Jahmyr Gibbs and Bijan Robinson both sat out practice the same day, and according to Adam Schefter, it's because both are deep into conversations about new long-term deals.

It's not a coincidence these two are moving in lockstep. Gibbs and Robinson are widely viewed as the front-runners to become the league's first $25 million-per-year back, blowing past the current market. Robinson is coming off a monster season, 287 carries for 1,478 yards and 7 touchdowns, that got him First Team All-Pro honors and real Offensive Player of the Year buzz. Gibbs has been just as dynamic as a dual-threat weapon out of Detroit's backfield. Both are still under contract for 2026 with fifth-year options already exercised for 2027, so there's no leverage crisis here, just two sides negotiating while the clock on camp reps ticks.

By that afternoon, Schefter had upgraded the language, calling both backs hold-ins rather than just absences. That's a meaningful distinction in NFL parlance: a hold-in means the player is still showing up to the building, still around the team, just not putting his body on the line in practice reps until money gets sorted out. It's the quiet version of a holdout, no fines, no drama, just leverage applied politely.

Dan Campbell, for his part, sounded exactly like a coach who's seen this movie before and isn't sweating it. Asked directly about Gibbs' situation, Campbell kept it vague and patient, framing it as "both sides working through something" that will "come as it comes." That's coach-speak for don't panic, and reporting elsewhere backs that up, suggesting Atlanta's talks with Robinson are further along and more active than Detroit's with Gibbs at the moment.

The stakes go beyond just these two guys getting paid. If either deal lands north of $25 million a year, it resets the running back market that's been artificially suppressed for years while receivers and pass rushers ran away with the cap. Running backs across the league have watched teams treat the position as disposable; a Gibbs or Robinson mega-deal would be a signal that elite dual-threat backs can still cash in like anyone else.

For now it's a waiting game. Neither Detroit nor Atlanta has shown urgency to cave, and neither player has escalated beyond sitting out practice. Expect the hold-in to keep going right up until one side blinks, or until a number gets agreed to that both front offices can live with before the season actually matters.