{"id":785313,"date":"2026-03-01T22:37:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-01T22:37:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/785313\/"},"modified":"2026-03-01T22:37:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-01T22:37:13","slug":"nfl-free-agent-profile-rb-kenneth-gainwell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/785313\/","title":{"rendered":"NFL free agent profile: RB Kenneth Gainwell"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">As NFL free agency inches closer, so to it will clarity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Clarity as to what and who teams will target with the hopes of making their respective teams better for the coming regular season. One player that teams may look into is veteran running back Kenneth Gainwell.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">The five-year veteran, who has played his career in Pennsylvania with the Philadelphia Eagles and, most recently, the Pittsburgh Steelers, brings an experienced and reliable No. 2 running back as both a runner and receiver.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Given the current state of the Denver Broncos\u2019 roster, there probably isn\u2019t a fit for Gainwell, but let\u2019s dive in to see what they could get if there was.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Experience: 5 NFL seasons<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">2025 stats: 114 carries, 537 yards, five touchdowns; 73 receptions, 486 yards, three touchdowns<\/p>\n<p>Why the Broncos should sign running back Kenneth Gainwell<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">One thing we know about a Sean Payton offense is dual-threat running backs. The ability to consistently make plays in the running and receiving game is the best way to get plays and the ball.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Gainwell is coming off his best season in the NFL with the Steelers. As noted above, he had 114 carries for 537 yards and five touchdowns as the second running back in Pittsburgh. He also had 73 catches for 486 yards and three touchdowns.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">While not eye-popping numbers, they are great stats for a No. 2 back. That\u2019s exactly what you want from a No. 2 back in any offense, let alone Denver. A consistent runner and catcher at running back could fit in nicely for the Broncos.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">On top of that, Gainwell stays on the field. In his five-year career, he\u2019s missed only a few games.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">So Gainwell is reliable in multiple ways.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">The problem is that the Broncos have multiple Gainwells currently on the roster.<\/p>\n<p>Why the Broncos shouldn\u2019t sign running back Kenneth Gainwell<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">If Denver had a true No. 1 running back, I could see George Paton and Payton really kick the tires on Gainwell.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">But they don\u2019t, hence why they more than likely won\u2019t even look into him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">The Broncos must focus on getting that true No. 1 running back figured out, especially if Breece Hall hits the market. It was reported last week that the New York Jets back will have \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.milehighreport.com\/denver-broncos-news\/172653\/breece-hall-broncos-jets-nfl-free-agency-news-rumors\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">serious interest<\/a>\u201d in Denver if he becomes a free agent. I would venture a guess that the feeling would be mutual.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">When and if the Broncos make a move at running back, it will be for a top-notch game changer like Hall. With a multitude of Gainwells on the roster, it doesn\u2019t make sense to target another one.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Gainwell is a reliable and durable secondary running back. For teams with an established No. 1 running back and in need of a No. 2, he\u2019s at the top of the free agent list.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Denver is not one of those teams. Instead, they\u2019ll be on the hunt for a game-changer lead back like Hall.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As NFL free agency inches closer, so to it will clarity. Clarity as to what and who teams&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":785314,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2062],"tags":[232,231,258,41075,2426,7,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-785313","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-denver-broncos","8":"tag-broncos","9":"tag-denver","10":"tag-denver-broncos","11":"tag-denver-broncos-free-agency","12":"tag-denverbroncos","13":"tag-football","14":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/785313","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=785313"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/785313\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/785314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=785313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=785313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=785313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}