Montee Ball was once viewed as the future of the Denver Broncos run game. He emerged as the better player over Knowshon Moreno and was expected to headline the ground game for years. However, an injury-plagued season has caused CJ Anderson to jump him in the depth chart and now the free fall continues. With one last preseason game to prove himself worthy of sticking around, is Ball at serious risk of getting released?
Ball is now fourth on the Denver depth chart. Anderson is viewed as the starting running back. Ronnie Hillman has made a case to be the backup and Juwan Thompson is looking more impressive by the day. Ball is sitting as the odd man out with one last opportunity to make himself known to the team.
"It is tough because I feel like I really haven't had the opportunities in these preseason games, but there's still one more [preseason game] left and I feel like I'll have some playing time in this one, and I'll show them what I can do," Ball said, via ESPN.com.
There are several teams in the league that would love for Denver to cut ties with Ball as he still holds a lot of talent and potential to be successful. He has simply fallen victim to a crowded roster group. The Broncos are putting more emphasis on the run game in 2015 with Gary Kubiak now the head coach. They could enter the season with four backs on the roster, but that seems unlikely to actually happen. Ball simply has to do enough to jump over Thompson.
There are several players fighting for attention in the final preseason game for the Denver Broncos. With Emmanuel Sanders potentially out for Week 1, Cody Latimer and Andre Caldwell are aiming to make an impact and earn a starting spot for the game. One player emerging from the backup shadows is Virgil Green who re-signed with Denver following the departure of Julius Thomas. Opportunity is knocking for Green as the Denver Post predicts he could become a huge star with Peyton Manning. Owen Daniels is the other player he is competing with to start. It is unclear which player will get the nod Week 1 as both are expected to play a big role in 2015.
