The Broncos have waived running back Melvin Gordon, the team announced Monday. Here’s what you need to know:
- Gordon is the Broncos’ leading rusher with 318 yards on 90 attempts this season. He’s also caught 25 passes for 223 yards.
- He’s spent the last three seasons with Denver but has led all NFL running backs with 12 fumbles during that tenure, including five this season.
- He finishes his time in Denver with 2,222 rushing yards (4.4 yards per carry) in 41 games. He scored 22 total touchdowns, including 19 rushing.
Backstory
Gordon was a two-time Pro Bowler with the Chargers before signing with the Broncos in 2020 as an unrestricted free agent.
What this means for Broncos
Heading into Sunday’s Week 12 game at Carolina, the Broncos are without their top four running backs from the preseason depth chart. Damarea Crockett (No. 4) tore his ACL in training camp, Javonte Williams (No. 1) suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 4, Mike Boone (No. 3) went on IR due to an ankle injury on Oct. 24 and will miss at least one more game and Gordon (No. 2) was cut Monday after fumbling for a fifth time this season in a 22-16 overtime loss to the Raiders.
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It is no wonder the Broncos have been unable to produce any semblance of consistency running the football in 2022, a major contributing factor in Denver producing the league’s worst scoring offense (14.7 points per game). — Kosmider
Where does Denver go from here?
Latavius Murray, who was signed off the Saints’ practice squad in October, is now the team’s unquestioned No. 1 back. Veteran Marlon Mack, signed earlier this month off the 49ers’ practice squad is now No. 2 and should make his Broncos debut against the Panthers.
That the Broncos waived Gordon even as they are set to be without running back Chase Edmonds for multiple weeks due to a high ankle sprain speaks to how much of an issue Gordon’s inability to hold onto the ball had become. — Kosmider
Required reading
(Photo: Ron Chenoy / USA Today)
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