Broncos Should Re-Sign RB Phillip Lindsay & Save a Draft Pick
The Denver Broncos don't have a date for when starting running back Javonte Williams will be fully cleared to return to the playing field, but GM George Paton says the team "feels good" about his recovery.
Those good feelings, of course, didn't preclude the Broncos from spending some money in free agency on Samaje Perine to step in and serve as the team's RB1 if and until Williams returns. Denver also signed Tony Jones Jr. and rosters a few practice squad-caliber backs.
But it still feels like the Broncos are looking for additional running back depth for Sean Payton's offense. One available back the Broncos could look at is a guy every fan under the sun will recognize and remember fondly: Phillip Lindsay.
Currently doing his thing in the XFL with the Seattle Sea Dragons, Lindsay is unsigned in NFL terms. While the former Colorado Buffaloes back has been scoring touchdowns in the XFL, the Broncos continue to bluster about taking a "runner" in next week's NFL draft if the value is there.
"Like all of the positions.. if there’s a runner there—no matter what point of the draft—and he’s the best player on our board, we’ll take a running back, that’s for sure," Paton said last Thursday. "Like I said earlier with free agency, we addressed enough needs where we can take the best players throughout the draft. We do not need to reach.”
Perhaps the Broncos did do enough in free agency to resist the temptation to reach in the draft. But armed with only five selections this year, why use one of them on a running back when Lindsay is there for the signing? He'd make one heck of a No. 3 option for the Broncos.
It might be a case of wishful thinking, alas. After all, Paton was the GM who presided over Lindsay's departure from Denver back in 2021. Lindsay had hit restricted free agency, and Paton opted to tag him with the right-of-first-refusal tender, which was the lowest-paying tender possible.
Lindsay didn't take kindly to that, believing he was worth more — especially after he'd produced back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons to open his career as an undrafted free agent, earning an unprecedented Pro Bowl nod as a rookie. Lindsay's camp eventually requested that the Broncos rescind the RFA tender so that he could test the market, and Paton acquiesced.
Lindsay ended up taking a $3 million one-year deal with the Houston Texans, and he's since bounced around the league. Hindsight is 20/20 and in retrospect, 'The Colorado Kid' likely regrets his decision.
But while Lindsay has struggled to catch on around the NFL, he's still yet to fumble in 724 NFL touches. He also boasts a 4.5 yards-per-carry rushing average for his career and at age 28, he's still a couple of seasons away from the dreaded 30-year-old cliff.
Lindsay's relatively diminutive size (5-foot-8, 190 pounds) belies his Herculean heart and with his speed, I shudder to think what damage he could do to defenses in the creative, inspired coaching hands of Payton. I wouldn't count on it, Broncos Country, but it is the NFL.
Never say never.
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