The Broncos waived DaeSean Hamilton last month, and it appears another high profile member of their 2018 draft class could be out the door before finishing his rookie deal as well.
Royce Freeman is on Denver’s roster bubble and could find himself let go at final cuts, Ryan O’Halloran of the Denver Post writes. The 71st pick of the 2018 draft, Freeman’s career arc so far is a good reminder of the easy come, easy go nature of the NFL. The Oregon product received a ton of buzz during his rookie training camp, and he was named the team’s starting running back before the 2018 season.
He ended up playing in 14 games and starting eight that year, finishing with 130 carries for 521 yards and five touchdowns. He again played a sizable role in 2019, rushing 132 times for 496 yards and adding 43 receptions for another 256 yards.
He quickly fell into Vic Fangio’s doghouse though, and didn’t play a ton last year behind Melvin Gordon and Phillip Lindsay. Even though Lindsay is gone now, O’Halloran notes they just drafted Javonte Williams in the second round and signed Mike Boone in free agency.
Boone got $1.6MM guaranteed from Denver, so he likely isn’t going anywhere. O’Halloran writes Freeman will need to use the preseason to convince new GM George Paton to keep him as a fourth running back, or else he’ll be looking for a new team. Freeman turned 25 in February.
This has been the case for a while now, even though Freeman has mostly played decently when he’s gotten time. I did not quite understand the Boone signing, other than it being a sign of Paton picking up players he (and possibly Shurmur; I do not remember if Boone was in Minnesota when Shurmur was) is familiar with. Freeman did carry the ball A LOT in college, but has done so sparingly in the pros, and has at times been the Broncos’ most efficient back per tote. Of course, I also did not quite get the Gordon deal, and though he and Freeman fill similar roles (a role that Williams will now also fill as a bigger back), I never understood quite what it was that lost Freeman his share of the carries.
No, Mike Boone was signed by the Vikings on April 30, 2018, more than three months after Shurmur was hired by the Giants.
Thanks for the info. I thought it probably wasn’t the case. I would wager that Boone is familiar with a few carryover concepts retained in the early post-Shurmur days, making the Broncos transition smoother.
Maybe. However, aside from zone blocking, I’m not sure how much of Shurmur’s scheme was carried over by John DeFilippo, his successor as the Viking’s OC. Shurmur and JDF both tend to be pass-happy when allowed full reign over an offense, with unfortunate results, but the former has proved that he can call a balanced offense if his head coach wants it, and do it well. JDF hasn’t, and may wait a long time before he gets another chance to be an OC.
Boone may bring a scat back type change of pace to the Broncos’ backfield.