After spending the first three seasons of his NFL career in Denver, running back Jaleel McLaughlin is heading for the open market. The Broncos will not tender the restricted free agent a contract, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports.
While the Broncos and McLaughlin are at least temporarily splitting up, he could still re-sign on a cheaper deal. That is a legitimate possibility, according to 9News’ Mike Klis, who points out McLaughlin would have gotten a noticeable raise on his RFA tender. McLaughlin made a $1.03MM base salary in 2025, in which he missed nine games with injuries. Tendering him would have cost the Broncos $3.55MM.
Dividing his college career between Division II Notre Dame (Ohio) and FCS Youngstown State, McLaughlin rushed for an NCAA-record 8,155 yards. Nevertheless, nobody drafted the 5-foot-8, 187-pound McLaughin in 2023. He went on to earn a roster spot with the Broncos and average an impressive 5.4 yards per carry on 76 attempts as a rookie. McLaughlin also chipped in 31 catches and three total touchdowns over a 17-game campaign.
With then-Broncos starter Javonte Williams struggling for the second straight season in 2024, McLaughlin took on more work as a runner. He finished the year with career highs in carries (113) and yards (496). McLaughlin’s catch total fell to 24, but he scored three TDs for the second straight year.
Williams left for the Cowboys in free agency last year, and the Broncos replaced him with J.K. Dobbins a few months later. The team had already made a bigger investment in RJ Harvey, whom it drafted 60th overall last April. Although Dobbins missed seven games, he and Harvey still split 299 carries. Those additions led to less action for McLaughin, regularly a healthy scratch before Dobbins suffered a season-ending foot injury in November. While McLaughlin averaged 5.1 yards a carry in 2025, he accrued just 41 touches (37 rushes, four catches) in eight games.
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