Cuts are coming and the Denver Broncos have some decisions to make. The first round of cuts will take place on Monday as Denver has to trim their roster to 75 players. Most veterans will survive those first round of cuts, but the fourth and final pre-season game will be crucial for players on the brink of earning a roster spot.
One of the players possibly on the bubble is Montee Ball, and Juwan Thompson is a big reason why.
As the starters exited the game after the first half, Thompson started to get the lions-share of the running back reps.
Interesting … but not all surprising. Juwan Thompson getting all the reps to start the half over Montee
— Adam Kinney (@AdamKinneyRadio) August 30, 2015
Thompson took four carries for 15 yards including a touchdown run to put the nail in the 49ers coffin as the Broncos second half starter. Then the un-drafted second-year running back from Duke followed that up with a run to convert a two point try.
MR TD pic.twitter.com/TEB0gsneSe
— Adam Kinney (@AdamKinneyRadio) August 30, 2015
Both Thompson and Ball ended up with the same number of carries but it is clear Ball is behind him now on the Broncos depth chart. Ball has 16 carries for 41 yards (2.5 yards per carry) this preseason and already lost his direct backup job to Ronnie Hillman earlier in training camp.
Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak told us after the game “It’s nothing that Montee’s done, its hard to get four running backs carries. Special teams is a big factor right now with him and Juwan as far as playing on a regular basis. We’ll see.”
Pretty amazing that a former second round pick and the NCAA’s all-time leading touchdown rusher now has to prove himself on special teams to earn more playing time over an un-drafted free agent fullback from Duke.
The Broncos could carry four running backs on their roster as they have done in years past, but that quote from Kubiak makes it sound like there is a direct competition right now between Thompson and Ball that has yet to be won. Whether that be who is dressed for game action or a roster spot we don’t know, but it may be difficult to justify keeping four backs when you have to account for the possibility of keeping three quarterbacks or two fullbacks.
Something has to give, and that thing might be Montee Ball‘s job.
