5 running backs who were free-agency flops for Broncos

The Denver Broncos have a rich history of running backs, from "The Franchise" Floyd Little to Terrell Davis and the running backs during the Mike Shanahan era.

Most of the great running backs in team history have come via the draft. Free agency hasn't been as kind.

The Broncos recently signed Samaje Perine to a free-agent deal and the hope that he doesn't someday end up on a list like this one. This will be a look at five running backs the Broncos have signed in free agency throughout the years who didn't quite work out.

Broncos' free-agent running back flops

Garrison Hearst, 2004

When Mike Shanahan was the team's head coach, following the success of Terrell Davis, there was a belief that anyone could run for 1,000 yards per season in Denver. The Broncos began to prove that with guys like Olandis Gary, Mike Anderson and Reuben Droughns. But not everyone worked out.

Shanahan also had a tendency to try and get the last bit out of NFL veterans who had found success in the league, such as the time he gave Jerry Rice a shot in 2005.

The year before that, he signed Garrison Hearst following a successful seven-year stint with the San Francisco 49ers in which he revived his career, then had to sit out for two full seasons due to a career-threatening injury before rushing for over 1,200 yards in 2001 and becoming the league's Comeback Player of the Year.

The Broncos signed him during the offseason ahead of 2004, adding him to the mix of backs on the roster. But he played in just seven games for the team that season and ran for only 81 yards.

A broken hand landed him on injured reserve and he would go on to retire following that season.