Where might Rams' Steven Jackson play next?

• Franchise%27s all-time leading rusher set to void final year of contract
• Lack of elite runners in free agency%2C draft could create good market for Jackson

If Steven Jackson wants to wade into the free agent waters, he's picking a good year to get wet.

Jackson and the St. Louis Rams agreed last October that he could void the final season of the six-year, $44 million deal he signed in 2008. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Jim Thomas, Jackson will do exactly that, no surprise given the team wasn't likely to pay the full $7 million he was owed in 2013 anyway.

Jackson, who will be 30 when the season starts, is the Rams' all-time leading rusher (10,135 yards), ranking ahead of Hall of Famers Eric Dickerson and Marshall Faulk (neither man spent his entire career with the franchise). Though Jackson's next birthday marks the point when many veteran running backs go into steep decline, he's known for staying in phenomenal shape and looked strong at the end of the 2012 season, averaging 108 yards from scrimmage over the final eight games.

The nine-year veteran's strong locker-room persona and abilities as a three-down player could elicit some lucrative short-term options given the draft offers no elite tailback prospects — unless you count injured South Carolina star Marcus Lattimore — and those available in free agency all come with some kind of red flag: Reggie Bush (durability/short-yardage ability), Rashard Mendenhall (attitude/injury), Shonn Greene (burst/hands), Ahmad Bradshaw (chronic foot injury).

Here are some potentially logical teams Jackson might join in 2013:

• Rams: Coach Jeff Fisher seems to have fallen in love with S-Jax and claims to want him back while Jackson seems open to a new deal with the only NFL team he has ever known. And why not? St. Louis is loaded with young talent, high draft picks and is clearly on the ascent, albeit in the improving NFC West.
• Atlanta Falcons: Michael Turner fell off a cliff in 2012 and is likely on the way out. Jackson could help restore the ground game for a team that seems to be just one or two players away from a Super Bowl ... assuming Tony Gonzalez spurns retirement.
• Detroit Lions: Their offense is woefully imbalanced, and Jahvid Best's lingering concussion aftereffects signal he won't ever return. Jackson, who's superior to Mikel Leshoure and Joique Bell, could restore the attack to an elite level.
• Green Bay Packers: GM Ted Thompson typically builds through the draft and is in good position to find a runner at the back of the first round or later. But he turned to free agency in 2012 to bring Cedric Benson to Green Bay and Ryan Grant back. Jackson is a major upgrade over both but would likely have to accept a deal that allowed Thompson to structure extensions for Aaron Rodgers, Clay Matthews and others in the near future.
• Indianapolis Colts: Andrew Luck and a new regime seem to have returned them to the status of perennial contenders. Oh, and they've got money to burn. Even if GM Ryan Grigson's primary focus is on improved blocking for Luck, he should still have plenty left over if he wants to recruit Jackson to a middling backfield.
• Pittsburgh Steelers: GM Kevin Colbert is another one who tends to eschew free agents. He also has plenty of cap space left to clear and would have to create even more to accommodate Jackson. But he could instantly upgrade a running game that lagged quite badly in 2012 with Mendenhall and others while quickly vaulting this franchise back into the Super Bowl conversation.

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Follow Nate Davis on Twitter @ByNateDavis