Getty Former Denver Broncos RB Melvin Gordon rushes for a big gain against the San Francisco 49ers.
Midway through last season, the Denver Broncos released their veteran running back Melvin Gordon before he signed on to the Kansas City Chiefs’ practice squad as they went on to win the 2023 Super Bowl.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Gordon has reached an agreement with the Baltimore Ravens on a one-year deal worth $3.1 million.
Signing Gordon to an already crowded running back room felt like a necessity, per Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic.
“Gordon gives the Ravens a little more depth and experience in the running back room,” said Zrebiec.
Baltimore running back J.K. Dobbins is in the final year of his rookie contract and has made it known that he’s not happy with his current deal, but he’s also missed 26 games over the past two seasons.
Gus Edwards, 28, will likely be the backup to Dobbins, but he has missed 25 games over the last two years as well and suffered a serious knee injury in 2021.
Despite being arguably the third-best running back option on the team, he’ll have to fight his way up the depth chart for more playing time.
Gordon is a two-time Pro Bowler that is entering his ninth season in the NFL after being drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the first-round of the 2015 NFL Draft.
During his career, Gordon has 6,462 rushing yards with an average of 4.1 yards per carry. Gordon has also found the endzone 55 times on the ground.
Gordon Claimed He ‘Never Had a Chance’ in Denver
Drama always surrounded the former Broncos running back while he played in Denver.
After he signed with the Chiefs’ practice squad, Gordon threw a little more shade at the Broncos while talking to the media on the first day of Super Bowl week and tried playing the sympathy card.
“I told my mom before I signed, I’m not going to finish in Denver.
Even after he signed, Gordon knew exactly what his role was going to be.
“The running back coach told me that they wanted to have Javonte (Williams) the guy.”
Gordon never wanted to take a back seat to Denver’s young breakout running back, but that was the plan all along.
“I never really had a chance,” Gordon said.
During the fourth game of the season, Williams suffered a torn ACL early in the game against the Las Vegas Raiders. Gordon became the number one running back immediately after Williams’ injury, but that didn’t go well.
Entering Week 12, on November 21, the Broncos waived Gordon after he was the leading running back for six straight weeks.
In the six games that Gordon started for the Broncos, he found the endzone just one time and averaged 29.8 yards per game on the ground.
On November 29, Gordon signed with the Chiefs.
Melvin Gordon Had Fumbling Issues
During the 2022 season, the former Wisconsin Badger fumbled the ball a total of five times and it was the timing of the fumbles that made the situation worse.
On opening night, Gordon fumbled against the Seattle Seahawks near the goal line while trying to score on fourth down. Gordon then fumbled twice against the San Francisco 49ers in which Denver recovered both times and then he fumbled on his first carry in Las Vegas when the Broncos were closing in on field goal range. During that game, the Raiders returned his fumble back for a touchdown making it a nine-point swing.
Of his last seven fumbles with the Broncos, three of them have been returned for a touchdown from the opposing team.
Even in the passing game, Gordon has struggled catching the ball. While with the Broncos, Gordon has averaged three drops per season.
Gordon became a liability for Denver and it took them 11 weeks of this season to realize that he shouldn’t be carrying the ball for them moving forward.
The former Pro Bowl running back has had a history for fumbling the football in his career. In his five years with the Los Angeles Chargers, Gordon fumbled a total of 14 times.
During his 41 games with the Broncos, Gordon put the ball on the ground 12 times and nine of those fumbles were recovered by the opposing team.