Getty Denver Broncos running back Samaje Perine.
The Denver Broncos knew they were getting a pretty decent running back in rookie Audric Estime, who they drafted in the fifth round (No. 147 overall) after he put up big numbers at Notre Dame in 2023.
What the Broncos may not have expected was the play of another rookie running back, Blake Watson, who the team signed as an undrafted free agent.
Both ended up making the Broncos’ 53-man roster on Aug. 27, with 8-year veteran running back Samaje Perine released in the process.
Perine played in all 17 games for the Broncos in 2023 and had 693 yards of total offense — 238 rushing yards and 455 receiving yards — and 1 touchdown.
“With Samaje, (he’s) another great pro,” Broncos general manager George Paton told the team’s official website. “He’s going to move on and do well somewhere else. (That is) another stacked room and it’s not just because they are young, (but) we like the talent. They are young and they are talented, the whole group. Javonte, Jaleel, Estime and then this Watson kid is really talented. … We like the room. We loved having Samaje here. He won us games. We just wish him the best.”
Perine Went From Big 12 Star to NFL Veteran
Perine was an AP All-American and three-time All-Big 12 Conference pick at Oklahoma, where he ran for 4,122 yards and scored 51 touchdowns in just three seasons. At Oklahoma, Perine set an NCAA single-game record with 427 rushing yards and 5 touchdowns against Kansas as a freshman in 2014.
He was drafted in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL draft by the Washington Redskins and rushed for a career-high 602 yards as a rookie. Perine played 2 seasons in Washington before spending 1 season with the Miami Dolphins. Perine spent 4 seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals as a backup to fellow Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon.
Samaje Perine will be with the Bengals again
Broncos Kept 4 Running Backs on 53-Man Roster
The Broncos kept 4 running backs on the roster; Estime, Watson, Jaleel McLaughlin and Javonte Williams.
Estime, who won’t turn 21 years old until September, played three seasons at Notre Dame and had 1,055 yards of total offense — 920 rushing and 125 receiving — with 12 touchdowns in 2022. He had another big year in 2023 with 1,341 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns while averaging 6.4 yards per carry.
Watson transferred from Old Dominion to Memphis for his final college season in 2023, but only played 5 games due to injuries. He put up freakish numbers at the NFL combine with a 4.40-second 40-yard dash and 41.5-inch vertical leap.
Williams, a second-round pick out of North Carolina in 2021, made the PFWA All-Rookie Team with 1,219 yards of total offense and 7 touchdowns but only played in 4 games in 2022 because of a major knee injury. He bounced back in 2023 with 1,002 yards of total offense (774 rushing, 228 receiving) and 5 touchdowns.
The Broncos’ running game could be the key to unlocking the entire offense. Denver hasn’t had a player rush for over 1,000 yards in a single season since Philip Lindsay and 2019 and haven’t had a running back selected to the Pro Bowl since Lindsay in 2018.
Denver hasn’t had a running back named NFL All-Pro since Pro Football Hall of Famer Terrell Davis made it three years in a row from 1996 to 1998 — a stretch in which the Broncos won back-to-back Super Bowls.
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Rookie RBs Bounce 8-Year Veteran From Broncos’ 53-Man Roster