Denver Broncos: How much will Phillip Lindsay’s role change in 2019?

There has been chatter about the role Denver Broncos running back Phillip Lindsay will play in 2019. What changes can we expect?

Running back Phillip Lindsay did a phenomenal job for the Denver Broncos as an undrafted rookie in 2018. He rushed for 1,037 yards on his way to the first Pro Bowl of his career.

At 5’8” and just 190 pounds, Lindsay is small for the NFL and it is possible or potentially even inevitable that if he takes too many hits he could have his career shortened.

So, the expectation is that Lindsay’s carries will decline while Royce Freeman, a bigger back, will get more carries and touches in the future. The question is, how much different will things be going forward?

Per Mike Klis of 9News, Lindsay’s workload is not expected to be reduced by a whole lot. In fact, the difference may be in just one or two carries per game.

Reading that, it does not sound like a lot. However, it is over thirty fewer carries for the season, which really could allow Lindsay to stay fresh for a longer period of time. It is not common for running backs to have long careers—especially running backs of Lindsay’s size. I’m not criticizing Lindsay at all, I’m just simply stating the reality of things.

In 2018, Lindsay ran the football 192 times for 1,037 yards and nine touchdowns. He caught 35 passes as well. On offense, Lindsay was in the game for 453 plays (42.18%), which was 137 more plays than Devontae Booker and 145 more than Royce Freeman.

By comparison, the San Francisco 49ers offense—led by now-Broncos offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello—had the most productive running back on the team, Matt Breida, in on 364 plays (34.44%).

Because of Lindsay’s productivity on the field, taking him out of games can be viewed as inconvenient but as it was mentioned earlier, it is an ideal strategy to keep Lindsay healthy and prepared for the future.

Don’t worry, Broncos Country. We will still see plenty of Phillip Lindsay in the future if all goes well.