The Melvin Gordon holdout officially lasted 64 days.
On Thursday, the 26-year-old running back report to practice for the Los Angeles Chargers. Gordon will not play Sunday, according to an article by Grant Gordon on NFL.com, but does plan on being active following the Chargers’ Week 4 match against the Miami Dolphins.
Keenan Allen was hyped for Melvin Gordon’s return ?
(via @Keenan13Allen) pic.twitter.com/ApD9DnO4PD
— ESPN (@espn) September 26, 2019
Los Angles is 1-2 this year. But the running game hasn’t been a problem. Austin Ekeler has rushed for 160 yards thus far and Justin Jackson 142. But Gordon’s return certainly won’t hurt in that department.
Gordon was on pace for his second consecutive 1,000-yard season in 2018, but he missed the last four games with injuries. Ultimately, Gordon ended the season with 885 yards on the ground.
In the season before, Gordon rushed for 1,105 yards and eight touchdowns. However, 2018 was only the running back’s third-best season in terms of yards-per-game of Gordon’s four-year career. He averaged 69.1 yards, just shy of his marks in 2018 (73.8 yards-per-game) and 2016 (76.7 yards-per-game).
Statistically, Gordon’s rookie season was his worst, though he still led the Chargers in rushing yards with 641. After that, carries and yards were split relatively evenly between Danny Woodhead, Donald Brown, and Branden Oliver. Gordon missed two games that season, eventually ending the year on injured reserve.
At times, it looked likely the running back would be traded at some point during his holdout. But a deal never came to fruition, so Gordon’s only move was to report to the team.
According to Spotrac, Gordon is set to make $4.61 million this season and become a free agent following the end of the season.
