Running Back Lance Ball Signed Off of Practice Squad

by Sayre Bedinger on Nov 10, 2010 1:22 PM MST in Denver Broncos Roster Moves

The Denver Broncos had to act quickly to retain running back Lance Ball on Wednesday, as he was reportedly about to be picked up by the Indianapolis Colts (his former NFL team) according to Mike Klis of the Denver Post.

The Broncos' staff was not about to let that happen, and they promoted Ball to their 53 man roster. To make room for Ball, the Broncos released recently signed tight end Daniel Coats, who was just added yesterday.

Ball led the Broncos in rushing in the pre-season, and is a second year player out of Maryland. The Broncos have been very pleased with Ball's work so far this season on the practice squad, and weren't about to let another one of their projects get away after the Colts already stole Andre Brown from them.

Ball first appeared in the league as a rookie with the Colts in 2008, but did not see any action in 2009. He had 21 carries for 119 yards and a touchdown in the pre-season, including the longest run Broncos fans have seen in a while when he had a 43 yarder against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Despite letting go of the recently signed Coats, Josh McDaniels maintained that the Broncos still had interest in the veteran tight end.

"There was some interest in Lance," said Broncos coach Josh McDaniels. "We've spent a lot of time with Lance. We like the way he's progressed in our system. You have to make a choice sometimes. You've invested a lot of time and effort into him. He's invested a lot of time and effort into our system. He's on the practice squad to develop and hopefully have a future with us. So based on the interest there was in Lance we went ahead and made that choice. We still have an interest in Coats, too. It's unfortunate it had to happen that quick."

The Broncos have not shown a great commitment to the running game this season, so it's unlikely that Ball will see action against the Chiefs, but perhaps he can provide a spark of sorts.

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Cool...I guess....I like Coats and hope we get him back.

You, my friend, are proof you dont need to have big floppy feet and a red nose to be a clown!

"I actually watched the World Cup. I HATE baseball. Hockey’s over. Hey, at least we have the WNBA. Oh, man. I’m making a noose. Want one?"

Harv Neptune.

by boydy2669 on Nov 10, 2010 1:45 PM MST reply actions

Coats has to be pretty pissed.

He probably already flew out and told his family and all that.

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by ChristianL on Nov 10, 2010 1:53 PM MST reply actions

I wouldn't be surprised

Alexander or McCarthy and picked him back up.

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by Nick Cast on Nov 10, 2010 1:55 PM MST up reply actions

whoops

I wouldn’t be surprised if we cut Alexander or McCarthy and picked him back up.

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by Nick Cast on Nov 10, 2010 1:55 PM MST up reply actions

Haha we Arrington'd him.

NFL Sunday Ticket: $300
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Watching Your Broncos Lose Every Week: Devestating.

by ChristianL on Nov 10, 2010 1:58 PM MST up reply actions 1 recs

haha

you mean

“oh we love Arrington, his versatility we love. We like him a lot and we see him being productive in our system”
“We have traded J.J. Arrington”

Follow me on Twitter: ballinnickcast
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"I'm really not this fat. I'm looking at myself on the screen and that 14 looks huge. Jeez dude, do a sit up." -John "Guru" Bena

by Nick Cast on Nov 10, 2010 2:10 PM MST up reply actions

Yup

NFL Sunday Ticket: $300
#88 Thomas Jersey: $120
Big Screen TV: $1200
Watching Your Broncos Lose Every Week: Devestating.

by ChristianL on Nov 10, 2010 2:34 PM MST up reply actions

LoL

as I cringe for laughing… That was hilarious though.

That's quite a long handle there, G Funk. - That's what she said.

First (and only, in our lifetimes) team to three consecutive SB wins!!!! ( =

by PearlJamBroncoGFunk on Nov 10, 2010 4:11 PM MST up reply actions

I actually really liked Ball in the pre season

He was def our best back. Now, that’s not always saying a lot, but I could easily see Ball staying on as our 4th RB for awhile.

Follow me on Twitter: ballinnickcast
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"I'm really not this fat. I'm looking at myself on the screen and that 14 looks huge. Jeez dude, do a sit up." -John "Guru" Bena

by Nick Cast on Nov 10, 2010 1:57 PM MST reply actions

Think we'll draft a RB?

I think Buckhalter is done after this season.

NFL Sunday Ticket: $300
#88 Thomas Jersey: $120
Big Screen TV: $1200
Watching Your Broncos Lose Every Week: Devestating.

by ChristianL on Nov 10, 2010 2:09 PM MST up reply actions

Maybe

Depends. If we get a RB in free agency then no, i don’t think so. If we don’t pick up anyone then we could very well pick up a RB in the draft.

We def need a RB because Buck is pretty much done.

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by Nick Cast on Nov 10, 2010 2:12 PM MST up reply actions

meh i'd prefer we use draftpicks on both our lines and maybe one more secondary guy

by march20 on Nov 10, 2010 2:29 PM MST up reply actions

Who is a free agent after this year?

NFL Sunday Ticket: $300
#88 Thomas Jersey: $120
Big Screen TV: $1200
Watching Your Broncos Lose Every Week: Devestating.

by ChristianL on Nov 10, 2010 2:32 PM MST up reply actions

Ryan Harris and Brandon Lloyd

Take it easy, but take it. Studs Terkel

by bradley on Nov 10, 2010 2:41 PM MST up reply actions

Lloyd renewed contract start of this year I thought.

You, my friend, are proof you dont need to have big floppy feet and a red nose to be a clown!

"I actually watched the World Cup. I HATE baseball. Hockey’s over. Hey, at least we have the WNBA. Oh, man. I’m making a noose. Want one?"

Harv Neptune.

by boydy2669 on Nov 10, 2010 2:43 PM MST up reply actions

Really hope you're right on that one.

NFL Sunday Ticket: $300
#88 Thomas Jersey: $120
Big Screen TV: $1200
Watching Your Broncos Lose Every Week: Devestating.

by ChristianL on Nov 10, 2010 2:45 PM MST up reply actions

yeah he signed a 2 year contract at the beginning of this year

by black_knight101 on Nov 10, 2010 2:45 PM MST up reply actions

it's deals like this we need to keep making to be a good team.

3/5/2010: Signed a two-year, $2.05 million contract. The deal included a $500,000 signing bonus. 2010: $755,000, 2011: $795,000, 2012: Free Agent

by black_knight101 on Nov 10, 2010 2:46 PM MST up reply actions

I meant RBs that we could pick up.

NFL Sunday Ticket: $300
#88 Thomas Jersey: $120
Big Screen TV: $1200
Watching Your Broncos Lose Every Week: Devestating.

by ChristianL on Nov 10, 2010 2:45 PM MST up reply actions

http://www.footballsfuture.com/2011/fa/rb.html

out of those i’d like to have LeRon McClain. probably wouldn’t be too expensive but could help us out at FB as well as be a huge goal line presence.

by black_knight101 on Nov 10, 2010 2:50 PM MST up reply actions

Would love to have LeRon McClain

But I fully see Baltimore resigning him.

NFL Sunday Ticket: $300
#88 Thomas Jersey: $120
Big Screen TV: $1200
Watching Your Broncos Lose Every Week: Devestating.

by ChristianL on Nov 10, 2010 3:04 PM MST up reply actions

Just read the comments on there

Maybe he won’t. Who knows maybe we can snag Jamal Charles hahaha.

NFL Sunday Ticket: $300
#88 Thomas Jersey: $120
Big Screen TV: $1200
Watching Your Broncos Lose Every Week: Devestating.

by ChristianL on Nov 10, 2010 3:05 PM MST up reply actions

Not just FA

With a pending lockout, teams may cut players who are on the team but have low locked in money. Players like Brandon Jackson, Michael Bush, Ricky Williams if he doesn’t retire, or Fred Jackson could end up on the market. While outside of WIlliams, none of these guys are Pro Bowlers, they are quality backs who could be on the market.

I am a bear of very little brains and big words bother me.

by Topher Doll on Nov 10, 2010 3:04 PM MST up reply actions 1 recs

Who's a FA in 2011?

Bailey, Fields, Harris, Maroney, B. Quinn, Marcus Thomas, and Woodyard(RFA). There may be others whose terms are undisclosed but they’re bubble players.

"the megalomaniac view of oneself as the Elect, wholly good, abominably persecuted, yet assured of ultimate triumph; the attribution of gigantic and demonic powers to the adversary; the refusal to accept the ineluctable limitations and imperfections of human existence, such as transience, dissention, conflict, fallibility whether intellectual or moral; the obsession with inerrable prophecies…systematized misinterpretations, always gross and often grotesque." – Norman Cohn - quoted in The Paranoid Style in American Politics

by Colinski on Nov 10, 2010 3:47 PM MST up reply actions

also, Prater as a RFA in 2011 (per Rotoworld)

by Colinski on Nov 10, 2010 3:55 PM MST up reply actions

He was talking about FA running backs

I am a bear of very little brains and big words bother me.

by Topher Doll on Nov 10, 2010 4:01 PM MST up reply actions

B quinn is definitely under contract for another year

by black_knight101 on Nov 10, 2010 4:49 PM MST up reply actions

Yep, he is.

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yep....that's for real

by Sayre Bedinger on Nov 10, 2010 9:08 PM MST up reply actions

Roy Helu

I would enjoy Roy Helu, but no higher than a 3rd or 4th round pick for the guy. He runs strong, real strong…..i think buck’s time is winding down here in rocky mountains.

by Jumpslash on Nov 10, 2010 3:29 PM MST up reply actions

I like that idea too...

Hmmm, wonder why?

My roots are in Denver, but my branches grew in Nebraska and my leaves fell in Lincoln.

by Blackshirt4Broncos on Nov 10, 2010 10:38 PM MST up reply actions

As long as it isn't in the first or second round...

I could be down with it.

"The miserable have no other medicine but hope."

- Friedrich Nietzsche

by TheMastermind on Nov 10, 2010 4:07 PM MST up reply actions

LIST OF 2011 FREE AGENT RUNNING BACKS

2011 NFL Free Agent Running Backs

UFA
Joseph Addai – Colts
Deon Anderson – Cowboys
Michael Bennett – Buccaneers
Cedric Benson – Bengals
Ahmad Bradshaw – Giants
Michael Bush – Raiders
Rock Cartwright – Redskins
Heath Evans – Saints
Korey Hall – Packers
Brad Hoover – Panthers
Brandon Jackson – Packers
Steven Jackson – Rams
Kevin Jones – Bears
Thomas Jones – Jets
LaMont Jordan – Broncos
Vonta Leach – Texans
Brian Leonard – Bengals
Jamal Lewis – Browns
Laurence Maroney – Patriots
Corey McIntyre – Bills
Sammy Morris – Dolphins
Lousaka Polite – Dolphins
Mike Sellers – Redskins
Fred Taylor – Patriots
Brian Westbrook – Eagles
Cadillac Williams – Buccaneers
DeAngelo Williams – Panthers
Jason Wright – Cardinals

by MiamiMike1 on Nov 10, 2010 3:10 PM MST reply actions

Hmm

Maybe we can get Brandon Jackson

NFL Sunday Ticket: $300
#88 Thomas Jersey: $120
Big Screen TV: $1200
Watching Your Broncos Lose Every Week: Devestating.

by ChristianL on Nov 10, 2010 3:12 PM MST up reply actions

When was this list compiled?

Thomas Jones was signed by the Chiefs during the offseason.

I have an inferiority complex, but it's not a very good one.

by Tarkus on Nov 10, 2010 3:12 PM MST up reply actions

Also,

LaMont Jordan, Brian Westbrook, and Laurence Maroney are with the wrong teams.

SEE YOU SPACE COWBOY...

by Joe Kayser on Nov 10, 2010 3:33 PM MST up reply actions

it was probably made at the beginning of the season

people don’t keep up with these type of list, i’m sure someone will make one when the season is over.

by black_knight101 on Nov 10, 2010 4:51 PM MST up reply actions

Jones was signed long before the beginning of the season.

I have an inferiority complex, but it's not a very good one.

by Tarkus on Nov 10, 2010 4:53 PM MST up reply actions

March 10, to be exact.

I have an inferiority complex, but it's not a very good one.

by Tarkus on Nov 10, 2010 4:54 PM MST up reply actions

well probably at the end of last season then

people get anxious about these kinds of things

by black_knight101 on Nov 10, 2010 4:55 PM MST up reply actions

Yeah, that's what I was thinking.

It was probably at the end of last season.

I have an inferiority complex, but it's not a very good one.

by Tarkus on Nov 10, 2010 5:18 PM MST up reply actions

A few of these have signed I apologize!!!!!!

by MiamiMike1 on Nov 10, 2010 3:11 PM MST reply actions

Damn

I just traded Peyton Manning for Dan Coats in my Fantasy league. Seemed like the McDaniels thing to do at the time…

Just a little levity, not a Fire McDaniels post or anything.

by Broncologist on Nov 10, 2010 3:20 PM MST reply actions

funny. ; )

-Harvey J. Neptune

"Either way, this game will be put in perspective and ultimately, win or lose, will not mean nearly as much as all of us waking up in the morning, taking a deep breath, appreciating what we have and living our lives for as long as we are given the gift of life." - KentuckyBronco

by HarvJNep2n on Nov 10, 2010 6:37 PM MST up reply actions

So Dan Coats has already been cut?

That didn’t take long. I knew the guy sucked but damn he didn’t even get though the front door.

by shaneslone on Nov 10, 2010 4:05 PM MST reply actions

Cool, at least someone prefers Denver

Here’s how I read this article: Indy called Ball’s agent saying they’d like to sign him. He turned around and called Broncos saying Lance would rather play in Denver – and we found a roster spot for him quickly. Good to know someone who’s been with the Broncos holds the team in high enough regard to prefer them to Indy.

On the flip side, the revolving doors at both RB and TE positions are not a good sign.

by si_ice on Nov 10, 2010 6:23 PM MST reply actions

Nice analysis, and I agree

Tthe preference for Denver may just mean he thinks he would only be a stopgap for Indy, but the situation here is still so much in flux that he feels he is fighting for a long term position.

by idahobronc on Nov 10, 2010 9:03 PM MST up reply actions

I actually am not too concerned about the "revolving door"

We are talking about positions where we have a veteran starter (Graham @ TE) or veteran depth (Maroney, Buck @ RB) and/or young guys who have struggled (Quinn, Gronk @ TE – altho I think Gronks is doing better than people give him credit for).

I don’t see it as a revolving door, I guess. I see it as team building. Coats and Ball were both brought in to compete for playing time, not as some temporary quick fix (a la Ty Law). I do hope they get Coats back on the squad. I expect a young guy to back on the PS soon… If it were up to me I might just cut Dickie Quinn since he can’t even peek his head out of the doghouse at this point…

by jonahsilas on Nov 10, 2010 11:26 PM MST up reply actions

Wonder if they even took the time to make a jersey for Coats.

My prediction: Ball gets 1 rush all year… on a 3rd down.

by Matt In Canada on Nov 11, 2010 12:28 AM MST reply actions

So at what point do we quit this?

Ball is a mediocre talent at best imo. When do we actually look for talent and say to hell with who knows the scheme? I love my broncos and that is why i want zero element of suck on this team!

Dear Santa- All I want for Christmas is a Stud NT and David Harris- Thank you!

Davis and Sharpe to the Hall!

"Teamwork divides the task and double the success."
- Unknown

by Jon Tollerud on Nov 11, 2010 2:09 AM MST reply actions