When the Denver Broncos lost Javonte Williams to a season-ending injury in 2022, they were supposed to be able to sustain something like that thanks to the presence of veteran Melvin Gordon on the roster. Gordon had somewhat surprisingly re-signed in Denver after finishing up a two-year deal worth $16 million in total money. That deal still holds up as one of the more favorable deals signed by a running back in recent years, sadly enough.
But the Broncos were not fine with Melvin Gordon in the lineup. Despite the opportunity to seize the RB1 role and really help the offense, Gordon did the exact opposite of help. He had a whopping five fumbles among his 90 carries, the highest fumble rate of his NFL career (5.55 percent) and he also had three dropped passes on 32 targets. That drop percentage of 9.4 percent is also the highest of his career.
That ultimately led to the Denver Broncos cutting Gordon last season, a move that certainly was not made because they had better alternatives on the roster. Well, actually, that isn't true. Latavius Murray came in and did a pretty tremendous job by comparison. But the point is, the Broncos didn't cut Melvin Gordon last year because they had such an abundance of running backs. In fact, it was the opposite.
They really needed him to come through, and he was a total liability for the team. It was a shame to see after Gordon provided a pretty consistent source of offense in his first two years in Denver with 20 total touchdowns and over 2,300 yards from scrimmage.
Now, Gordon has somewhat surprisingly resurfaced with the Baltimore Ravens. After the Broncos let him go last year, Gordon signed onto the Kansas City Chiefs' practice squad, so he actually got a Super Bowl ring last year, believe it or not.
Now, he's joining the backfield with Lamar Jackson and JK Dobbins out in Baltimore.
A RB deal: Veteran free-agent Melvin Gordon reached agreement today on a one-year deal worth up to $3.1 million with the Baltimore Ravens, per league source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 21, 2023
Good for Melvin Gordon to find some work and, hopefully, the Baltimore Ravens can help him get back on the right track with ball security. Obviously, there were bigger issues going on in Denver last year than just Melvin Gordon, but over the last handful of seasons, it is arguable that he cost the Broncos more than anyone would really care to admit.
Signing Gordon wasn't a unanimously beloved move in the first place, so the fact that he cost the team some games with his lack of ball security just poured gasoline on an already blazing fire.
In the time since he's departed Denver, Gordon has really had nothing but good things to say about the Denver Broncos and quarterback Russell Wilson, who was his teammate for a time back in college at Wisconsin as well as obviously last year in Denver. The two were reunited in the Mile High City but it obviously was a mess.
The Denver Broncos are moving forward with Samaje Perine taking the RB2 spot behind Javonte Williams, who has seemingly made a miraculous recovery from his knee injury last year.