Baltimore Ravens release veteran running back Melvin Gordon
NFL insider Adam Schefter reported Tuesday that the Baltimore Ravens will be parting ways with running back Melvin Gordon, releasing the veteran running back.
Gordon signed a one-year contract with the Ravens this offseason on July 21, marking the fourth NFL franchise he’s joined.
The veteran rusher is entering his ninth year in the NFL this season, rushing for 6,462 yards and 55 touchdowns in his career. And it will definitely be intriguing to see if another team adds him to their roster ahead of the 2023 football season.
Gordon rushed for 58 yards on 15 carries in Baltimore’s three preseason games, making the most of his reps in a crowded backfield. The Ravens had three running backs rush for over 400 yards last season, not to mention leading rusher and quarterback Lamar Jackson. But unfortunately for Gordon this season, he won’t be one contributing towards their running game under new offensive coordinator Todd Monken.
Gordon was a former first-round draft pick out of Wisconsin, where he rushed for 2,587 yards in 2014 to rank second all-time in NCAA history for a single season. He was selected No. 15 overall in the 2015 NFL Draft by the San Diego Chargers, where he’d spend the first five seasons of his career and earn two Pro Bowl selections.
He’d notch single-season highs in nearly every statistical category during his time with the Chargers before signing a two-year, $16 million contract with the Denver Broncos in 2020. He spent three seasons in Denver before signing to the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad in November 2022, earning a Super Bowl LVII ring last season despite not playing a single snap for Kansas City.
Mark Ingram slams NFL treatment of running backs as ‘atrocious’
This NFL offseason has shown how difficult it is in the National Football League for running backs to receive fair market value for their services. Even top five running backs, such as Colts’ superstar Jonathan Taylor, have had to deal with contentious standoffs with their owners, in order to try to get a deserved raise. Irsay and Taylor were at a standoff, so he was granted permission to seek a trade. There have been a number of other really talented running backs that have had issues getting paid this offseason, like Saquon Barkley and Josh Jacobs, who led the league in rushing yards last year. During halftime of the Houston Texans-New Orleans Saints preseason game on Sunday, former NFL star Mark Ingram decided he had seen enough.
Check out the video below.