8 months ago
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Jeff LegwoldJun 10, 2025, 05:29 PM ET
- Jeff Legwold covers the Denver Broncos astatine ESPN. He has covered the Broncos for much than 20 years and besides assists with NFL draught coverage, joining ESPN successful 2013. He has been a subordinate of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Board of Selectors since 1999, too. Jeff antecedently covered the Pittsburgh Steelers, Buffalo Bills and Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans astatine erstwhile stops anterior to ESPN.
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- The Denver Broncos person agreed to a woody with moving backmost J.K. Dobbins, adding different backfield enactment to a rotation that volition beryllium a enactment successful advancement arsenic they determination done grooming campy and into the regular season.
Sources told ESPN connected Tuesday that Dobbins' woody is for 1 twelvemonth and $2.75 cardinal and could emergence to implicit $5 cardinal with incentives.
Broncos manager Sean Payton would not corroborate immoderate reports of the statement erstwhile asked aft Tuesday's minicamp practice, saying, "We're close, I'll archer you tomorrow."
Dobbins visited the Broncos' installation past week, and negotiations had been underway since.
The Los Angeles Chargers placed a one-year unrestricted escaped cause tender connection connected Dobbins and had helium not agreed to a woody with different squad by July 23, they would person had exclusive negotiating rights with him.
Dobbins, who has dealt with aggregate injuries since being drafted successful 2020, posted vocation bests successful rushing yards (905), receptions (32) and receiving yards (153) past play and tied his vocation champion with 9 rushing touchdowns.
He rushed for 96 yards connected 25 carries successful a Week 6 Chargers triumph implicit the Broncos past season.
"He's a bully back, particularly erstwhile healthy,'' Denver information Brandon Jones said. "... He was 1 of the moving backs who had 1 of the amended games against america past year, truthful I'm ace excited."
The 26-year-old Dobbins missed the 2021 play due to the fact that of a torn ACL, missed each but 1 crippled of the 2023 play due to the fact that of a torn Achilles and missed 4 games past play due to the fact that of an MCL sprain.
Javonte Williams, who led the Broncos successful carries (139) and rushing yards (513) successful 2024, signed with the Dallas Cowboys successful escaped agency. As the champion walk protector among the moving backs, Williams was often the 1 deployed connected third-down oregon agelong passing situations.
Denver figures to springiness Dobbins a agelong look successful that third-down relation up of Week 1.
The Broncos instrumentality 4 moving backs who had carries past play successful Audric Estime, Jaleel McLaughlin, Blake Watson and Tyler Badie. Among those four, McLaughlin, whom Payton has said mightiness beryllium undersized for immoderate of the enactment successful walk extortion contempt his willingness to instrumentality connected rushers, had the astir rushing yards (430) connected the squad past play arsenic good arsenic astir rushing touchdowns (four).
The Broncos besides traded up successful the 2nd circular of April's NFL draught to prime Central Florida moving backmost RJ Harvey. Payton has lauded Harvey's offseason enactment and has said helium believes helium yet tin beryllium a subordinate who plays successful each down and region situation.
Harvey has been moving successful the discourtesy since the team's May rookie minicamp, followed by 2 sessions of OTAs to spell with this week's minicamp.
