News & Info/Headlines

The Buffalo Bills signed Fred Jackson to a contract extension just prior to the team's afternoon training camp practice. The deal will keep him under contract with the club beyond this season. It also clouds the team's running back rotation for fantasy football owners eager to get a better feel for the division of workload in 2014.

The 33-year old is coming off a season in which he posted a career-high nine rushing touchdowns and led the team with 10 total scores. His 1,277 all-purpose yards was the third highest single-season total of his career. Jackson also pulled in a single-season career best 47 receptions. Jackson did all of that while playing through a knee injury for most of the 2013 campaign.

With the help of Jackson's production Buffalo ranked second in the league in rushing and first in total rushes.

Meanwhile, as Profootballtalk.com's Josh Alper notes, Jackson's role for the 2014 season is a bit unclear with Bryce Brown and Anthony Dixon joining Jackson and C.J. Spiller in the backfield.

There's been talk that the 33-year-old may be slated for a more limited role than he's played in the past, but the extension suggests he's still very much in the Bills' plans now and in 2015. Brown and Dixon are also signed through next season, but Spiller has a player option for 2015 that he'll likely pass on exercising if things go well this year.

Jackson's extension could give the Bills more flexibility in dealing with any negotiations that may be coming with Spiller, especially if the Bills decide to follow recent trends and allocate less money at running back than at other positions.

But CBSSports' Jason La Canfora wrote earlier this week that he expects the Bills to field calls for running backs if contending teams continue to lose them (Vick Ballard and Kendall Hunter already out for the year). Considering all that, La Canfora wrote: "Buffalo has more backs than it needs, probably, and Spiller, in the final year of his deal and with no extension in sight, could be the odd man out.

"I anticipate Jackson being a Bill for life, and he could end up with a few new years on his deal, and the speed of Brown is impressive. Dixon supplies depth. A trade market for Spiller could well develop over the next month."

While assuming Jackson's contract extension is an indication that La Canfora's speculative piece will come to pass, the timing of both are interesting even if coincidental. Either way, Jackson clearly remains in the team's offensive plan for the immediate future -- and perhaps longer than most of us expected.

If nothing else, the extension makes Jackson’s current MyFantasyLeague.com ADP (RB46) look very attractive.