Running back Phillip Lindsay is the most underappreciated skill player in recent NFL history.
The Broncos, in rescinding Lindsay’s right-of-first-refusal tender with the team and allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent, essentially chose Melvin Gordon over him to lead the Broncos’ backfield. Why? It doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, but I don’t think the Broncos ever appreciated what they had in Lindsay. An undrafted free agent from Colorado in 2018, Lindsay become the first undrafted back in NFL history to rush for 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons. Comparing his rushing production in his three Denver seasons versus Gordon’s (Chargers 2018-’19; Broncos ’20), and comparing their income earned in those three years:
G Att. Yards Yds/Rush Rush TD Earnings 18-20 Annual Avg $
Lindsay 42 534 2550 4.8 17 $1,808,000 $603,000
Gordon 39 552 2483 4.5 27 $15,506,000 $5,169,000
Lindsay will be one year younger (27) on opening day than Gordon.
Last week, Lindsay signed a one-year, $3.25-million contract with the Texans. Assuming he plays the season in Houston, he’ll make almost twice as much in one season as he made in three years with Denver.