Should the Falcons keep Michael Turner?

Jan 20, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons running back Michael Turner (33) is tackled by San Francisco 49ers free safety Dashon Goldson (38) and Ray McDonald (91)during the second quarter in the NFC Championship game at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports

The Falcons have a tough question to face. Should they release Michael Turner? The 31 year old Turner has a lot of wear and tear on him. He has over 1,600 carries in his career, and we all know the career changing age is 30. Running backs especially lose their burst and stamina at 30. With two younger running backs and a 6.9 million dollar contract, should the Falcons release Turner?

The simple answer is yes. Look at theSan Franciscogame. Turner looked very slow against a young and fast defense. If you took out his 10 yard run, he only had 20 yards on 7 attempts. Those numbers are a joke. On those 7 attempts, he only rushed for 2.5 yards per attempt. I am 100% sure that Jacquizz could have done better and he did. He had 32 yards on 10 attempts, with a 9 yard run to go along with that. Take away the 9 yard run, he had 2.6 yards per attempt.

The contract is not good. Turner is looking at receiving 6.9 million dollars this season. With his production being matched by Snelling and Rodgers, this contract doesn’t make sense. Combined, Rodgers and Snelling will only have to be paid $1,405,000. This is a fraction on Turner’s bulky contract. We can put this money toward places of more need, like resigning Brent Grimes.

What would it take for the Falcons to keep Turner? It seems like the only way that Turner stays is if he restructures his contract. Even if he is willing to restructure, I don’t think it is worth resigning him. We will have to waste attempts by giving a 31 year old man the ball 10-15 times per game. I would much rather see a rookie back come in and get those carries so we can develop him into a feature back.