USA TODAY International Edition
Broncos’ Gordon eager to earn big carries
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – Denver Broncos running back Melvin Gordon traded barbs with safety Justin Simmons about a locker room game of Uno apparently gone awry.
He laughed at a reporter’s question about a recent tweet that mistook his cellphone – stashed in his sock – for a protective pad after Gordon missed a couple of days of training camp with a minor foot injury. Football attire, after all, doesn’t have pockets.
“I should have invested in an Apple Watch,” Gordon said during a Wednesday news conference.
Playing time, though, is no laughing matter. The eighth- year pro, who returned to the Broncos this offseason on a one- year deal worth up to $ 2.5 million, knew what he was getting into when he signed up to return for another year of playing alongside ascendant secondyear back Javonte Williams.
In Gordon’s mind, that doesn’t mean he has to accept any particular fate.
“To be honest, I think they kind of have a plan of what they want heading in ( to the season),” Gordon said when asked about his role. “As far as a rotation goes, I really don’t know. I think they want ’ Vonte, probably, to be the guy.”
Williams received most of the topteam snaps during the training camp, though Gordon also works extensively with the No. 1s as well. In 2021, Gordon and Williams finished with 203 carries apiece and nearly identical yardage ( 918 for Gordon, 903 for Williams). Gordon finished with eight TDs to Williams’ four, while Williams logged 43 receptions to Gordon’s 28. It was Gordon who started 16 games to the rookie’s one.
How first- year head coach Nathaniel Hackett and offensive coordinator Justin Outten deploy the pair this season remains to be seen.
“I’ve got to go back and look at how they kind of did things in Green Bay with the carries and things like that,” Gordon said of Hackett’s last stop, where the Packers featured the tandem of Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon. “I’m not sure. My mindset is to just go out here and compete and go as hard as I can. … I want to put my best foot forward so when I do go out there, they be like, ‘ OK, we need to get him out here more.’ ”
Hackett at the beginning of camp was asked why the franchise opted to bring Gordon back, and he began by exclaiming, “He’s Melvin Gordon, man!”
“He’s just a downhill, skilled player,” he continued. “He can catch from the backfield, pass protect, all those things. Just getting to know him now, I’m even more happy that he’s here. Everything that I had witnessed was just off tape, watching him run for all those yards, run people over, utilize speed. So now getting to know him, it’s even better.”
Gordon is adamant the pecking order does matter to him. “You kind of know what it is at times, unfortunately, but I’m still a competitor at the end of the day,” he said. “You take that away and the love’s gone. In my head every day, I tell myself they’re not just giving anyone a position. You have to earn it and that’s what I tell myself every day. Nothing’s given. That kind of keeps me going, keeps me focused, keeps me finishing, keeps me grinding.”
At the same time, though, the veteran back, who has played in just two playoff games in his career – both with the Chargers in 2019 – has a feel for the bigger picture as well.
“( Hackett) told me coming in, at the end of the day, it’s about the Super Bowl. It’s about winning the Super Bowl, and we’re going to do whatever is best for the team. So, I’m bought into that 100% because I want the ring more than anything. I do feel like I can help this team, so when I get in I’ve got to show that.”