Exposing 4 Reasons Broncos Moved on From Phillip Lindsay

Broncos Country is still reeling over the news that the team has moved on from Phillip Lindsay. How did we get to this head-scratching moment in Broncos canon?

All of Broncos Country woke up to some somber news Thursday morning — Phillip Lindsay will no longer be a Denver Bronco.

This is a move that many people expected to happen once the team placed an original-round tender on him just this Monday. But there was at least some hope that he would return until now.

So how did the Broncos brass get here? Why would GM George Paton and company want to move on from a hometown, Pro Bowl running back like Lindsay, who has put up two 1,000-yard rushing seasons in his three-year career?

If you go back at some events over the last year, you can see that the writing on the wall has been there for some time. 

The Melvin Gordon Signing

Gabriel Christus/Denver Broncos

Rewind to almost an exact year ago. March 20, 2020, the Broncos agreed to terms with Gordon on a two-year, $16 million contract, including $13.5M in guarantees.

The key piece of this is the $13.5M in guarantees. That told us that this was not a one-year rental for the team. The team was committing to at least two years with Gordon.

If you remember, this signing did not sit well with much of the fanbase. Why spend $8M on the running back position when you already have a Pro Bowler on the roster?

Well, there's one really big reason leading to another explaining how the Broncos arrived at the decision made on Thursday. 

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The Pat Shurmur Offense

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When the Broncos brought in Pat Shurmur to replace recently-fired offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello, the entire strategy shifted.

Scangarello's offense relied heavily on misdirection. There were a lot of scheduled runs, a lot of quarterback under center looks, play-action, and a moving pocket. Rarely did you see the offense in three-WR sets outside of obvious passing situations. This offense played to Lindsay's strengths.

Shurmur’s offense, on the other hand, has a stark contrast in approach. His philosophy is more about spreading the defense out and pushing the ball downfield. This means a lot of 11 personnel (1 TE, 1 RB, 3 WRs). That package puts a lot more stress on the running back to block effectively, which is one of the weaker areas of Lindsay's game.

No Pre-Free Agency Extension for Lindsay

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Another harbinger was the fact that no extension was completed for Lindsay during the 2020 season. If you look closely at the comments from then-GM John Elway, you can sense how noncommittal he was to getting an extension done. 

“I’ve talked to Phillip’s agent and we’ll see what happens and what we can do later on,” Elway told The Athletic. “That’s not a guarantee either way, but we’ll see what we can do later on.”

The more time passed in the 2020 offseason, the more Elway's public posture took on a kicking-the-can-down-the-road tone. 

“We’ll see where everything falls after free agency, after the draft [and] how much money we have,” Elway told Ryan O’Halloran of The Denver Post. “We would like to be able to do something. Obviously, Phillip’s been great. If we can do something, we’ll try.”

When a GM says things like “no guarantees” and often reiterates “we’ll see” and “we’ll try”, it doesn’t instill a lot of confidence.

The 2020 Experiment

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Again, the fit of Lindsay in Shurmur’s offense was in question before the season even started. The Broncos then rolled into the 2020 season and saw those concerns come to the surface.

Lindsay recorded the worst statistical season of his three-year career. Of course, he did play in just 11 games, but his per-carry average dropped to a career-low 4.3 yards. If you remove a 55-yard run against the Chargers, that average plummets to 3.8 YPC.

In Lindsay's last four healthy games of the season, he recorded just 108 rushing yards on 45 carries, good for 2.4 YPC. He also struggled in passing situations, recording just seven receptions on the season for 28 total yards. One of the weaker areas of his game, pass blocking, reared its ugly head on a number of occasions, and as a receiver, there were a few ill-timed drops.

Bottom Line

If the Broncos hadn’t fired Scangarello and changed offensive schemes last year, it’s much more likely they would have extended Lindsay

But at the end of the day, Lindsay was a square peg in a round hole. And Paton felt it would be significantly easier to replace the running back production than to ask his coordinator to alter a scheme he’s been refining over a decade-plus in the NFL.

This sends a clear message that Paton backs Shurmur, though head coach Vic Fangio and his entire coaching staff appear to be in a do-or-die season. The Broncos seem intent on giving Shurmur the pieces he needs to run his offense successfully. From there, it’s all on him to sink or swim.

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