The Baltimore Ravens enter the 2023 NFL season hoping to make the playoffs with a better record and stronger roster than the previous season, where they were eliminated in the Wild Card round by the Bengals 17-24.

The Ravens’ last season was once again severely affected by an injury that Lamar Jackson suffered during Week 13 against the Denver Broncos. The veteran running back who recently signed a one-year contract with the Ravens comes from that team.

For the 2023 season, the Ravens have four quarterbacks: Jackson, Huntley, Brown, and Johnson. They will also have the help of 4-5 running backs and multiple wide receivers.

Who is the veteran who will play with the Ravens in the 2023 preseason?

According to a recent article published on the NFL’s official website, RB Melvin Gordon recently signed a one-year $3.1 million contract with the Baltimore Ravens to play in the preseason and see if he is able to make the 53-man roster.

Gordon played for the Los Angeles Chargers from 2015 to 2019. He was also with the Denver Broncos from 2020 to 2022, where he was cut after fumbling the ball in a couple of regular season games. The last few months of last season he played for the Chiefs.

Despite never playing a regular season game with the Kansas City Chiefs during the 2022 season, Gordon was part of the practice squad for a few weeks and that gave him the title of Super Bowl champion with the franchise.

The game has been shifting to a pass-first approach in the last couple of years. It has always been about the quarterbacks, but the running backs usually had meaningful roles in the offenses. However, that hasn’t transferred to the contracts.

There shouldn’t be big names available in free agency at this point of the offseason, but stars such as Dalvin Cook or Ezekiel Elliott remain unsigned. Other playmakers like Saquon Barkley or Josh Jacobs haven’t been able to sign long-term deals despite being anchors of their teams.

Despite now being removed from his prime, Melvin Gordon is a veteran that can still contribute in a backup role. However, he hasn’t found a team yet following a bad year with the underperforming Denver Broncos.

Melvin Gordon says being a running back “sucks”

With the cap space growing every year, the salaries also increase. The quarterbacks have had unbelievable rises in their contracts and that happened with other positions too. For example, wide receiver. But there is one position that went the other way.

Another case of an underappreciated player is Austin Ekeler, who couldn’t get an extension even though he is the best offensive weapon of the Los Angeles Chargers. That’s why Gordon made a huge statement about being a running back in the present.

“It’s just so tough for running backs right now, man. You have a lot of running backs that’s out there and we just don’t get no love. It’s literally the worst position to play in the NFL right now. It literally sucks”, Gordon said in an interview with Jim Rome on CBS Sports Radio.

Five of their losses to end the season were defeats by 3 points or less. Much of the offense last year came by way of Devonta Freeman and Latavius Murray, but now according to Ian Rapoport, free agent Melvin Gordon, “is in discussions with the Ravens on a potential deal” and is “a person of interest in Baltimore”.

Considered by many to be one of the best free agents in his position the Ravens will need to pay Gordon something in the realm of $8 million a season which was what he was earning at the Broncos. Here is the low down on Melvin Gordon

Melvin Gordon career highlights

Melvin Gordon is 28 years old and has played for the San Diego/ Los Angeles Chargers from 2015-2019 and a two-year stint with the Broncos in 2020-2021. Gordon is a two-time Pro Bowler and has rushed for over 6,100 yards in his career.

Gordon’s best season came in 2017 with 12 touchdowns and rushed over 1,000 yards. Last season with Denver he had 10 touchdowns and just under 1000 rushing yards and led the team in all major rushing categories.

On a personal note, during his time in Denver in 2020 Gordon was arrested for speeding and posted a $55,000 cash bond. The DUI charge was later dismissed in March of 2021 and Gordon pleaded guilty to speeding and reckless driving.

For most players, that’s not their fault. Football can wear you out and not many players have long careers in the NFL. For others, it seems like they just don’t care enough or don’t want it badly enough anymore.

Whatever the reason is, there were plenty of disappointing players in the 2020 NFL season, but no one topped Melvin Gordon, Cam Newton, Ben Roethlisberger, Lamar Jackson, and Ezekiel Elliott; and we’ll let you know just why.

The Most Disappointing NFL Players Of 2020

5. Melvin Gordon

Melvin Gordon was a star with the San Diego / Los Angeles Chargers but he couldn’t replicate that success with the Denver Broncos. Perhaps the Chargers knew what was coming and that’s why they refused to cave into his salary demands in 2019 when he threatened to hold out for the season.

While the Broncos’ offense was stagnant, to say the least, Gordon did little to help their cause. He rushed 215 times for 986 yards and just 9 touchdowns, adding a career-high four fumbles lost. He ended up splitting carries and doesn’t look like a bell-cow back anymore.

4. Cam Newton

Cam Newton was the guy to watch last season. Some people claimed he was washed and wasn’t going to be healthy enough to go back to his MVP level, others – myself included – believed that he was poised for a revenge season and would lead the New England Patriots to the playoffs.

Needless to say, we were wrong. Newton was inaccurate, hesitant, and flat-out bad. He did most of his damage on the ground and only threw for2,657 yards with 8 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He was benched down the stretch multiple times and it seems like his days as a starter are over.

3. Ben Roethlisberger

It’s always sad to see when the clock is ticking on a Hall of Famer, and, sadly; Ben Roethlisberger couldn’t keep up with Father Time anymore. He had the worst season of his career and many wonder whether he’s still got it or not.

Big Ben has never been mobile but at least he was a sniper. Last year, however, most of his throws were off. He still managed to throw for3,803 yards with 33 touchdowns and 10 interceptions but failed to move the chains when his team needed him. It’s hard to blame him at this point in his career, tho.

2. Lamar Jackson

Don’t get me wrong, Lamar Jackson had a good season but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t disappointing. He was coming off an MVP year with many people questioning his drive and determination to win, and he didn’t do much to change that narrative this season.

The thing with Jackson is that he just didn’t improve the slightest. He continued to be the same quarterback he was last year and once again, that backfired. He’s got to be able to throw the ball and not be one-dimensional, regardless of how great he is running the football. Last year, he threw for just2,757 yards with 26 touchdowns and 9 picks, adding1,005 yards and 7 scores on the ground.

1. Ezekiel Elliott

And among all players, no one was more disappointing than Ezekiel Elliott. Even when Dak Prescott was healthy, his production just wasn’t the same and his numbers continue to regress every single season. Also, his fumbling woes were on full display for most of the year.

Elliott rushed for a career-worst979 yards (4 yards per carry) with just 6 touchdowns. Also, he fumbled 6 times with 5 fumbles lost and it seems like he had lost his first step. He’s too talented and too young to look washed, so hopefully, he’ll have a bounceback season and silence his critics in 2021.