The Denver Broncos have released the player who was their Number One Running Back for most of the last two seasons. In fact, Will McGahee was the man for most of last season, and it was only a late season knee injury that allowed Knowshon Moreno to take over in the Denver Broncos backfield.
“It’s never easy to part ways with a veteran player who made so many positive contributions to our team and community,” John Elway said in a statement. “I appreciate all of the competitiveness, toughness and leadership Willis brought to the Broncos. He was an integral part of our team’s turnaround during the past two seasons, and I wish him the best as he continues his NFL career.”
This move frees up about $2.5 million in cap space for the Broncos. With McGahee now 32-years-old, and with a history of knee issues dating back to a horrific injury in his college days, there was clearly some questions as to how much he had left in the tank. McGahee has generally been pretty durable, but was lost for the rest of the season when tackled by the Charger (and now Bronco) Quentin Jammer in a November game.
McGahee led the Broncos with 731 yards rushing despite missing nearly two months of the season. McGahee rushed for 1,930 yards with eight touchdowns in 25 games with the Broncos. In his career, he has 33 100-yard games, the most of any active NFL running back.
The move leaves the Broncos with a competition between Moreno, Ronnie Hillman, and Montee Ball for the position of lead back behind qb Peyton Manning as they look to improve on their finish of an AFC Divisional Round loss to Baltimore next season.
As for McGahee he has stated that he will look for a new team to continue his NFL career with. If his knee is healthy, I do believe he has something to contribute to a team in need of another solid running back.
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