If the S.S. Salary Cap is sinking, who gets the last life jacket?

[AvengerRam]

I suspect that this was a very close call for most, if not all, of the people who voted. There is no "right answer." Projecting which player will have more value for a longer period of time is difficult, if not impossible.

Hopefully, the Rams won't have to make this choice.

[Goldenfleece]

For me, it goes back to the age thing. It seems to me that Jackson doesn't break off big gains as often as he used to. Back in 2006, SJ put up 1523 rushing yards and a total of 2334 all-purpose yards. This year, he is on pace to have around 1030 rushing yards and around 1280 all-purpose yards. But you don't even need to look a the numbers for evidence that he's not performing quite at the same level he used to. When was the last time you heard a non-Rams fan use the words Steven Jackson and Pro Bowl in the same sentence? At one time, he was a top five back and arguably the best in the league. Now he's maybe just outside the top ten.

Sentimentally, I'd like to see SJ stay with the team long enough to finally play for a title before retiring with the team that drafted him. Practically, I see a runningback who will still command a high dollar salary but with slowly diminishing returns each year while we have another back who is averaging 1.3 yards/carry more sitting in the wings. Meanwhile, Danny is two and a half years younger and plays at a position where we need all the help we can get. Is Danny a better player than Jackson? Probably not. But his value over replacement on this team is higher, and he's still very much in his prime.