Rams Looking for Veteran RB; Melvin Gordon Available?

Veteran running back Melvin Gordon rushed for 318 yards and two touchdowns in 2022, could the Los Angeles Rams target the two-time Pro Bowler?

The average shelf life of an NFL running back is short, - 2.57 years to be exact - by far the least amount of time among any position. 

So to see a player last a decade is so rare that only two players in the league last season accomplished the feat (Kyle Juszczyk and Brandon Bolden).

Following a 5-12 campaign, where they finished fifth-worst in rushing offense, the Los Angeles Rams could target a player nearing that decade-mark in two-time Pro Bowler Melvin Gordon. 

And despite struggling mightily last season, the 30-year-old could be a viable piece according to Bleacher Report - ranking Los Angeles as a realistic possible landing spot.

"There's a good chance Gordon is simply done," Bleacher Report writes. "If Gordon has a chance of being signed, it's likely with a team that is looking for a veteran at the position with a young backfield. The Rams certainly qualify. He could be a veteran who takes some of the load off Cam Akers behind a suspect offensive line."

Over 10 appearances in 2022 - six of those starts - the back finished second on the Denver Broncos with 318 rushing yards on 3.5 yards per carry. 

However, Gordon was released by Denver following his fifth fumble of the year - spending the remainder of the season on the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad. 

Gordon would likely fall as the third or fourth-stringer in a running back room of Cam Akers, Kyren Williams and rookie Zach Evans. However, with Akers being the most experienced of the bunch, a veteran such as Gordon could revamp the Rams running attack. 

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Follow Riley Sheppard on Twitter @RileyDSheppard.

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