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Denver Broncos: Historical look at 5 times team brought in a big-name RB

By Travis Wakeman

Gaston Green runs through a hole during a game against Cleveland on December 8, 1991.
Gaston Green runs through a hole during a game against Cleveland on December 8, 1991. /
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NEW ORLEANS, LA – JANUARY 15: Tony Dorsett #33 of the Dallas Cowboys carries the ball against the Denver Broncos during Super Bowl XII on January 15, 1978, at the Louisiana Super Dome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Cowboys won the Super Bowl 27-10. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA – JANUARY 15: Tony Dorsett #33 of the Dallas Cowboys carries the ball against the Denver Broncos during Super Bowl XII on January 15, 1978, at the Louisiana Super Dome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Cowboys won the Super Bowl 27-10. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /

Tony Dorsett

It’s often forgotten that Tony Dorsett played for the Broncos and he was only with the team for one season.

In the summer of 1988, Broncos head coach Dan Reeves, who was quite familiar with Dorsett, helped persuade the team to trade for Dorsett to pair in the backfield with Winder. Reeves was convinced that even at 34 years old at the time, Dorsett still had something to offer.

Coming off a stinging loss to the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XXII, the team was looking for a player to help get them over the top. At that time, the Broncos had lost back-to-back Super Bowls.

Dorsett ranked No. 2 on the NFL’s all-time rushing list at that time and following the retirement of Walter Payton, was the league’s active leader.

He wasn’t necessarily bad for the Broncos, but he wasn’t the same player that became a legend with the Dallas Cowboys. He was the kind of player you would have expected to get in exchange for so little (the Broncos only had to give up a single draft pick).

Dorsett ran for 703 yards and five touchdowns that season but averaged less than four yards per carry.

Dorsett was a mediocre running back on a mediocre 1988 Broncos team that finished 8-8. Between 1986 and 1989, the ’88 team was the only one that didn’t go to the Super Bowl.

From 1983-87, Winder averaged 225 carries per season. In 1988, he only had 149 while Dorsett received 181.

This is not to say that the trade for Dorsett cost the Broncos a chance at the playoffs and another Super Bowl appearance, but his acquisition certainly did not produce the desired effect.

Overall result: Didn’t work out

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