Broncos plan to spread out RB duties
All but one Dallas draftee signed
DENVER — Denver Broncos coach Vance Joseph said Friday for the first time that his running backs are in an open competition for the starting job just like his quarterbacks are. The difference is that his primary ball carrier won’t get the vast majority of snaps.
“The running back position, you need two or three guys who can carry the load. It’s no longer a one-guy position. So, I’m excited to have Jamaal, C.J., Book, even De’Angelo in the mix there. It’s a good group,” Joseph said.
The Broncos’ holdovers are C.J. Anderson, who missed the last half of 2016 with a torn meniscus in his right knee, and Devontae Booker, who never really hit his stride as a rookie while making his way back from two knee surgeries.
GM John Elway added De’Angelo Henderson of Coastal Carolina in the sixth round of the draft and free agent Jamaal Charles, who is coming off two injury-filled years that led to his release from the Kansas City Chiefs.
Charles, the Chiefs’ all-time leading rusher, signed a oneyear, $1 million deal with Denver for his comeback.
While Charles will vie for a featured role, the Broncos are going to take it easy with him over the summer.
“He’s been injured the last couple of years, so it’s our goal to get Jamaal healthy,” Joseph said.
COWBOYS: Dallas announced Friday it has signed eight of its nine draft picks, including first-round pick Taco Charlton.
Along with the eight draft picks, the Cowboys also signed 13 undrafted rookie free agents.
The 6-foot-6, 277-pound Charlton, a defensive end from Michigan, was drafted 28th overall by the Cowboys.
The Cowboys also signed second-rounder Chidobe Awuzie, fourth-rounder Ryan Switzer, sixth-round picks Marquez White and Xavier Woods, and seventh-round picks Noah Brown, Jordan Carrell and Joey Ivie.
Third-rounder Jourdan Lewis, a cornerback from Michigan, is the Cowboys’ only unsigned draft pick.
DEATH: An early-morning accident in Tangipahoa, La., has claimed the lives of two people, including former NFL player Michael Jackson, 48, who played for Cleveland and then Baltimore from 1991-98.
Louisiana State Police Senior Trooper Dustin Dwight said it happened about 1 a.m. Friday on U.S. 51, south of the Village of Tangipahoa. After his retirement from football, Jackson held served as the mayor the village from 2009-2012.
Dwight said Jackson was riding a motorcycle north on U.S. 51 at a high rate of speed, when 20-year-old Destiny Gordon of Kentwood, La., backed her car from a parking space across both lanes of the highway into the motorcycle’s path. Because of the motorcycle’s speed, it penetrated the driver’s side door, killing Jackson and Gordon, investigators said.