Melvin Gordon stays in AFC West with rumored deal with Denver Broncos
By Matt Conner
The Los Angeles Chargers will now have to face Melvin Gordon twice each year with the news that the running back is headed to Denver.
The AFC West just got a bit more interesting on Friday with the news that one of its best running backs from the last few years is switching to play for a rival as the Denver Broncos are reportedly working on a deal with Melvin Gordon.
Gordon has spent the last few years making life difficult for AFC West defenses as part of the Los Angeles Chargers backfield. In tandem with Austin Ekeler, the Chargers typically had solid success running the ball and/or utilizing Gordon to help move the chains in some way or another.
Source: The #Broncos and RB Melvin Gordon have agreed to terms on a 2-year deal worth $16M with $13.5M guaranteed. The former #Chargers star stays in the division, creating a strong 1-2 punch with Phillip Lindsay.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 20, 2020
Over the last five seasons with the Chargers, Gordon has put up 47 total touchdowns, 36 of which came on the ground. A former first round pick, Gordon was hopeful for a long-term extension from his team but the Chargers weren’t ready to meet his demands. Now Gordon will hope to prove them wrong by remaining in the West, which guarantees he’ll play his former team twice each season.
Gordon had 162 carries for 612 rushing yards and 8 touchdowns last year in a shortened season in which the running back held out for quite some time. He averaged only 3.8 yards/carry in the process and the middling stats likely didn’t help his cause at all in free agency.
Gordon carries a career average of 4.0 yards/carry in five full seasons in the league (all in SoCal). He also 224 career catches for 1,873 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns.