Running back Melvin Gordon is a pending free agent after spending the last two seasons with Denver.
But Gordon doesn’t have much of a desire to play elsewhere in 2022.
“I have been wanting to come back. I would love to win [a] championship in Denver,” Gordon said in a recent interview with Troy Renck of Denver7. “I made a lot of great relationships with the guys. I feel like we have a really good team. To leave a talented team and go somewhere else would suck.”
Gordon rushed for 918 yards and eight touchdowns in 2021, adding 213 yards on 28 catches with a pair of receiving TDs. Denver finished the season 7-10 and fired head coach Vic Fangio to hire former Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett.
“It’s a job unfinished, and we need to finish the job,” Gordon said. “I would love to stay. I talked with George [Paton]. We spoke on it. He told me he thinks highly of me. I really like the way he runs things and does things.”
Gordon’s last deal with the Broncos was for two years and $16 million. It’s unclear just how much desire they’ll have to re-sign him for a contract like that given that the club just drafted Javonte Williams in the second round of last year’s draft and he led the team with 1,219 yards from scrimmage.
A Chargers first-round pick back in 2015, Gordon turns 29 in April.
“They see backs, they think whatever, they get to 30 or high 20s, they feel like they’ve gotta decline. They don’t,” Gordon said. “I look at Frank Gore’s numbers almost every day. I have it saved in my phone. Year eight, he was still putting up 1,000 yards (1,214). Year nine, he still was putting up 1,000 yards (1,128).
“That’s kind of how I see my future. I love football. He’s a great person to model after.”
Gordon has recorded at least 1,000 yards from scrimmage and 10 total touchdowns in five of his seven seasons. Whether or not he stays in Denver, there should be at least some market for his services in 2022.