By Jordan Long
The Denver Broncos are preparing to take on the Carolina Panthers. Kickoff is at 11 A.M. Mountain Time on Sunday. Earlier this week, Denver decided it was time to cut ties with running back Melvin Gordon.
Gordon has been with the Denver Broncos for the past three years. his first season, he split carries with Phillip Lindsay. That season Gordon rushed for 986 yards with 9 touchdowns and 2 fumbles. Lindsay on the other hand finished with 502 rushing yards and 1 touchdown. Lindsay was the better back when it came to protecting the football since he didn’t fumble. In fact, in his NFL career to this point, Lindsay has rushed the ball 637 times and has yet to record a fumble. The Broncos decided to not sign Lindsay at the end of 2020, letting him go as a free agent. They felt Gordon could be relied on to be the starting running back.
In the 2021 NFL Draft, the Broncos added depth by drafting Javonte Williams. The Broncos felt Williams could be the 2nd back on the depth chart while learning the NFL game. Denver gave Gordon every opportunity to be the starting running back. Gordon totaled 918 rushing yards and 8 touchdowns. Gordon though had 3 fumbles and lost all of them.
At the end of last season, it looked like Gordon was done in the Mile High City. He was a free agent. The Broncos though decided to sign him for one more year, worth up to $5 million. Gordon wasn’t going to be the featured back but the backup to Williams. Williams tore his ACL against the Las Vegas Raiders in week 4, forcing Denver to use Gordon as the starter.
Gordon proved he couldn’t hold onto the football. The last straw came last week when the Broncos fell to the Raiders 22-16. The Broncos drove to the Raiders’ 3-yard line with 34 seconds left in the first half. Denver was up 10-17. A touchdown and their lead over the Raiders would be 17-7. At worst, a field goal would put them up 13-6. Denver faced a 3rd and 1. Denver gave the ball to Gordon who looked like he might be close to the first down but had the ball punched away. Denver recovered the fumble, but lost 6 yards and tried to kick a field goal which was blocked.
According to CBSsports.com, Denver Broncos Head Coach Nathaniel Hackett said, “In that situation, he’s got to be smart with it and he can’t fumble. He knows that. You just can’t do that. It’s unacceptable. We’ve got to find a way to get the ball in the end zone.”
On Monday, the Broncos finally cut ties with Gordon because of his inability to protect the rock. Gordon leaves Denver this year with 5 fumbles and 2 that were lost. In a Broncos uniform, Gordon had 10 fumbles while losing 7 of them, far too many. This was long overdue. Gordon cost the Broncos too many points off of the scoreboard. Denver will march forward with 32 year old Latavius Murray as the starting running back for the rest of the season.
Leave a Reply