Phillip Lindsay Says Melvin Gordon Is 'Not My Enemy' After RB's Broncos Contract

There will be a healthy competition between Denver Broncos running backs Philip Lindsay and Melvin Gordon, but not animosity. 

"Melvin's not my enemy," Lindsay told 9News.com's Mike Klis on Monday. "He's my teammate. He needs to do his job but best believe I'm going to do my job."

The 25-year-old added:

"When camp comes around it's going to be a battle. I'm not just going to sit there and give somebody the job. They can. But I'm going to go out there and I'm going to battle. I've heard this stuff my whole entire life. And it's never ever panned out how everybody has wanted it to pan out. Until someone proves me wrong, I'm going to continue to do what I do.

"My initial reaction is at the end of the day I've got to produce so that I can put food on the table for my family. I can't worry about anything else that's going on. Honestly. He's going to do his part and I'm going to do my part. At the end of the day, I don't need 20 carries to make 100 yards. I don't think I've ever had 20 carries."

The Broncos officially signed Gordon to a two-year contract on March. 26.

The 26-year-old was drafted by the Los Angeles Chargers 15th overall in 2015. He missed the first four games of last season because of a contract holdout that ultimately failed. Once on the field, Gordon rushed for 612 yards and eight touchdowns on 162 carries across 12 games (11 starts).

Overall with the Chargers, Gordon tallied 4,240 yards and 36 touchdowns on 1,059 rushes. His lone 1,000-yard rushing campaign came in 2017.

Lindsay signed with the Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 2018. Since then, the Colorado product has back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons along with 16 total touchdowns on 416 carries. Lindsay became the first undrafted offensive rookie in league history to make the Pro Bowl.

Lindsay showed he is not intimidated by anything when he called Broncos Hall of Fame running back Terrell Davis and asked his permission to don his No. 30:

To Lindsay's point, he has only exceeded 20 carries in a single game once—he rushed 21 times for 81 yards and two touchdowns last season against Green Bay—but he has eclipsed 100 yards in five career games.

Broncos General Manager and President of Football Operations John Elway explained in a statement the organization's decision-making in signing Gordon:

"Obviously we had two good backs in Royce Freeman and [Phillip] Lindsay. We know that [Lindsay] is a guy that's had a great year for us. I know there's people going, 'Why do you need another horse?' Well, when you have an opportunity for Melvin Gordon to come in here, we felt like it was an addition to the team. He's a guy that obviously has had a lot of success in this league. He's scored a lot of touchdowns and has caught the football a ton. So we feel like with him—with Melvin, as well as Phillip—that we've got a great one-two punch, and we'll only get better in the backfield.

"Ultimately, we have to score more points this year. We've struggled on the offensive side the last two, three years, and so we've got to get better on that side. I think Melvin will be one of those key pieces to help us get better."

Denver ranked 20th in rushing offense (103.9 yards per game) and 28th in scoring offense (17.6 points per game) during the 2019 regular season.

The 7-9 Broncos were sparked by rookie second-round quarterback Drew Lock in December—going 4-1 in Lock's first five NFL starts.

That momentum paired with Gordon's motivation to prove doubters wrong and Lindsay's determination to stay the team's No. 1 option could propel Denver to the playoffs for the first time since 2015.