Why was Melvin Gordon released? Broncos let RB go midseason

Melvin Gordon was shockingly released by the Denver Broncos following their defeat to the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 11 of the 2022-23 NFL season. He has been serving as their starting running back since Javonte Williams went down with a season-ending injury.

Gordon has spent the majority of his time in shared backfields this season. He and Williams split the carries for the first part of the season, with Williams receiving a larger workload. Following Williams' injury, Gordon has been sharing the backfield with Latavius Murray but has been on the favorable side of the timeshare.

The Broncos also recently acquired Chase Edmonds to join their mix of running backs, but he has been ruled out for the next several weeks with an injury. This makes it even more surprising that the Broncos would release Melvin Gordon ahead of their Week 12 matchup against the Carolina Panthers.

The main reason for his release has reportedly been his issues with ball security this season. He has already fumbled the football five times in 11 games this year so far.

Fumbling has become a trend for Melvin Gordon throughout his NFL career so far. He spent eight years in the league split between the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Chargers. He has already totaled an alarming 26 fumbles. His one fumble against the Raiders in Week 11 appeared to be the last straw for the Broncos, but Gordon seemed to downplay the issue.

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Melvin Gordon doesn't believe his fumble contributed to Broncos' loss

Denver Broncos RB Melvin Gordon

When asked about his fumble in Week 11 and how it affected his teammates, Melvin Gordon had this to say during a postgame media interview:

“I don’t think that’s the reason we lost the game because we recovered it but it definitely didn’t help. When I do stuff like that, I put myself on a short leash. I get being taken out of the game. I can’t be mad at anybody but myself. It's not like we didn't recover the ball back. They were not probably too upset. They were encouraging about it. It was just unfortunate.”

Whether or not his fumble had a direct impact on the outcome vs. the Raiders, it's hard to imagine the Broncos being too pleased with Gordon failing to take responsibility for it. This may have ultimately resulted in his release.

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If you use the above quote, please credit Troy Renck and H/T Sportskeeda