After fumbling his way out of a job in Denver, veteran Melvin Gordon spent the rest of the 2022 campaign on the Chiefs practice squad. This was obviously a humbling step backwards for the former Pro Bowler, but the practice squad gig hasn’t left him discouraged about his future NFL opportunities.
During an appearance on The Jim Rome Show, Gordon said he’s staying ready for his next job while also acknowledging the plight of today’s running backs.
“I still want to play,” Gordon said (h/t to Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com). “I still got some tread left on the tires. Andy, you know, coach Reid, kind of sat me down and he told me that ‘you still can play.’ It’s just about the right situation. It’s just so tough for running backs right now. And you have a lot of running backs out there and we just don’t get no love. It’s literally the worst position to play in NFL right now. It literally sucks. I’m just staying ready, man, because I know what I can do. I know once I get in camp, I get in any camp, I can turn some heads. I know what I need to do.”
This isn’t the first time a veteran running back has expressed displeasure about the current state of their positional market. Josh Jacobs has said he’s taking a stand for the position while negotiating an extension with the Raiders, and Saquon Barkley has hinted that his extension offers haven’t come close to matching his on-field production.
Gordon doesn’t necessarily have the same complaints as Barkley or Jacobs, since the free agent RB would be hard pressed to earn even a modest payday on his next contract. However, all veteran RBs share a similar concern when it comes to teams’ reluctance to make any investment on older RBs, with front offices generally preferring to go with cheaper options on rookie contracts.
If Gordon has any hope of playing next season, he might have to once again settle for a practice squad gig. The 30-year-old had a rough go of it in 2022, averaging a career-low 3.5 yards per carry and fumbling the ball five times before earning his walking papers. However, Gordon isn’t far removed from 2020 and 2021 campaigns where he averaged more than 1,000 yards from scrimmage and 10 touchdowns per season.
If the RB is hoping for a guaranteed spot on a 53-man roster, he’ll have to wait for injuries to hit during training camp and preseason. Even then, he’ll likely have to wait his turn, as running backs like Dalvin Cook, Ezekiel Elliott, and Kareem Hunt also remain unsigned.
Gordon’s fumbled 4 more times this off-season and they haven’t even played any games. He needs to understand it doesn’t matter how well you can run if you give the other team the ball.
Melvin Gordon and Dalvin Cook are fumbling away the ball about once every 60 carries. Joe Mixon fumbles about once every 219 carries yet the Bengals apparently aren’t interested in the excellent ball security he provides. Turnovers are the decisive factor in many games.
Mixon averaged 3.8 ypc.
His career average is 4.1 which would be acceptable to almost any coach in the league.
You could say he “fumbled the bag”…
Might help him if’n he’d finally check his ‘mechanics’ and evaluate the why/how his fumblenitis has become a habit and try to correct this behavior.
I’ve noticed his ‘free gifting defenses’ increased every year since SD drafted him, fans hoped he’d be a pinch of LT reborn but reality hit hard.
The only way to change the market is for these guys to take shorter deals, be great, stay healthy and prove they are worth more. That’s true for every position. They also need to change NFL offenses back to more of a running game. The passing game has taken over which lessens the value of RB
The government really needs to step in a do something about the NFL owners oppression of POC RBs. It should be mandatory for every team to have at least 1 minority RB aged 28 or older. This type of systematic racism/age-ism can only be fixed my implementing mandatory employment opportunities based on race and age, not merit or skill.
The government really needs to step in a do something about the NFL owners oppression of POC RBs. It should be mandatory for every team to have at least 1 minority RB aged care 28 or older. This type of systematic racism/age-ism can only be fixed my implementing mandatory employment opportunities based on race and age, not merit or skill.
There has been no secret that for at least the last 10 years (or more) RBs are a dwindling need on today’s teams, yet guys still go and be running backs. They have to realize that in today’s schemes, running backs are, in some ways, primarily becoming ‘fullbacks’, get the short yardage when needed and block for the QB trying to hit the 30 yd TD pass, and they are not going to get paid massively for that. Sure you will have outliers each year that are great RBs, but, as long as the rules favor the Offense to score points, gone are the days with a team winning games with just an RB and nothing else. Heck even the Bears seem to have finally gotten that memo.
Running backs are still heros and celebrities in high school and college ball. Very few have to worry about being mistreated in the NFL.
Until they make a sports wager…then Goodell unleashes the dogs of war to protect (giggle) the “integrity of the league”
Might be a little uneducated and old school but apparently guys like Gordon and Cook fumble the ball 1 in 60 carry’s. So over a season he might turn it over 4 times. And you go on about how important it is to not turn the ball over.
But QBs’s turn the ball over basically once a game be it a int or fumble or failing to capitalise on simple yardage. RB’s get anywhere from 10-20 mil and QBs get anywhere from 30-60mil.
Yet you need both guys to provide you with a good offence.
I think you can allow for 4 turnover forms RB if he’s going to give you 1000 yards a season and good yards per carry. QBs need to do a better job not turning the ball over as frequently.
Might be on my own in this opinion but I feel most teams should be a RB that’s big and strong and will run through traffic and another that is quicker and can catch the ball but be better in contact than most WRers. 2 good RBs to share the work load and make it unpredictable for other teams. Also means if one of your guys gets banged up then you can lean on the other guy to carry the load. Your only paying 10mil for a good RB, that’s what you pay a back up QB to do nothing anyway. A third string WR makes that kinda money giving you 500 yards a season.
With that said I think guys like Melvin Gordon, Dalvin Cook, Ezekiel Elliot should definitely still be in the league and with a good market.
Bills have a young James Cook, and an old Latavious Murray. I’d definitely rather pair the two Cook boys together than have Murray.
Chargers have Austin Ekler and not much in back up supporting him. They could do with a Melvin Gordon.
Broncos have Javonte Williams but he has already been banged up, he could definitely do with a back up like Zeke.
In a perfect world Cook to Bills, Zeke to broncos and Gordon to chargers
Melvin Gordon was the RB1 on the Chargers for years until Ekeler took over, I do not see him going back.
Zeke to Broncos for some goal line work could work out well.
I absolutely agree that Buffalo could use another Cook in the kitchen.
Gordon returning back back to where it started makes perfect sense. Just be the back up and be humble about it
The Chargers aren’t about to bring back a player whose penchant for fumbling has cost his team games. (See the Chargers’ 2019 loss at Tennessee for proof.)
RB verses QB turnovers- I’ve no quips about a RB that gets ‘tagged’ with a turnover by fumble.
That stated I DO have misery with a QB being allotted a ‘turnover interception’ because of a pass tipped or mishandled by a WR/TE/RB. Those should be the responsibility of the ‘receiver of the intended throw’.
The league has adopted a pass happy direction likely due to the impatience of fans that are bored with the ‘ole grind it out ground’ game. People want touchdowns, not field goals, and the more the better.
The days of Barry Sanders or Marcus Allen or Tony Dorsett are gone and buried.