At this time a year ago Montee Ball was set to be the Denver Broncos starting running back. Fast forward a year and the Broncos second round pick in 2013 is fourth on the running back depth chart and is reportedly in danger of being cut, according to Mike Klis of 9News.
Ball was a star at Wisconsin where he played four seasons and had tremendous success before going to the NFL. Ball played in all 16 games as a rookie for the Broncos and rushed for 559 yards while averaging 4.7 yards per carry. Last season Ball was limited to just five games and 3.1 yards per carry and that opened the door for C.J. Anderson who has taken the starting running back job and run with it.
In the Broncos third preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers Ball didn't see action until the fourth quarter and he was the fourth running back to get playing time. Anderson and Ronnie Hillman split time in the first half while Juwan Thompson played the third quarter before Ball finally saw the field in the final quarter. So far this preseason Ball hasn't been very impressive as he has only rushed for 41 yards on 16 carries and that his put his roster spot in danger.
After the game Ball had a good, positive attitude about not playing until the fourth quarter and said he is going to work to prove he deserves a spot on the team and some playing time.
"I was expecting a lot more playing time, it caught me off-guard, but my head's not down. I'm going to keep it up and keep fighting. It is tough because I feel like I really haven't had the opportunities in these preseason games, but there's still one more left and I feel like I'll have some playing time in this one, and I'll show them what I can do," said Ball.
Ball might have a lot to prove in that final preseason game as fourth string running backs are usually asked to play special teams which is something Ball has never done. If the Broncos were to keep four running backs they would likely expect Ball to contribute on special teams since he is unlikely to see time as a tailback but his lack of experience in that area might hurt him.
It has been quite a fall off for Ball in just one short year but he has had a great attitude about the whole thing. Ball has a chance to go out in preseason game number four and show that he needs to be kept and it sounds like that's exactly what he intends to do. Even if Ball does get cut someone will definitely take him on as he is just 24 years old and very talented so his days in the NFL are far from over.
