There is no question Josh McDaniels is taking a risk in signing running back LenDale White, a risk that basically comes down to the idea the Broncos hope White believes he needs them as much as the Broncos need some help in the backfield.
It’s also an indication there is at least some concern behind closed doors about when Knowshon Moreno and Correll Buckhalter will be healthy and what the players behind them on the depth chart have shown in camp thus far.
There were murmurs that McDaniels had departed from his philosophy of high-character players in signing White. White is facing a four-game suspension once the regular season begins, if he is on an NFL roster at the time, for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy.
He battled his weight at times with the Titans, his work ethic was questioned and he often clashed with now-departed running backs coach Earnest Byner in Tennessee.
But White is really the first player with whom McDaniels has taken a risk in his tenure. For example, rookie cornerback Perrish Cox had plenty of teams nervous about his character after being suspended last season by Oklahoma State and banned from working out at the school’s pro day.
Darrell Reid has had some scrapes with authorities previously in his career and is a McDaniels favorite, and punter Britton Colquitt was suspended at the University of Tennessee and lost his scholarship after a DUI arrest.
Bottom line is McDaniels needs a running back — the days after the injuries to Moreno and Buckhalter were not pretty on offense as the team went through its training camp practices — and White desperately needs a team.
In some ways, this may be White’s last chance to show something. His phone wasn’t exactly ringing off the hook after the Seahawks cut him in the wake of discovering he was going to be suspended for the season’s first four games.
McDaniels is banking on White being scared straight. The Broncos have basically told him he’s on a “one strike and you’re out” plan, that one mistake will send him on his way.
And while some teams worry when a player is in his hometown, as White is, so close to temptations and people who might not always have doing the right thing on their agendas, he persuaded team officials in his meeting Wednesday he’s ready to give things a try and stay the course.
He has to show enough on the field over the next few weeks for the Broncos to decide it’s worth it to keep him through his suspension. When they make their roster cuts to 53, the Broncos could move White to reserve/suspended as one of the roster moves and then make another roster move when he is eligible to return to the team.
But he can practice through training camp and play in the team’s preseason games. White has consistently said all he wants is a chance.
The Seahawks decided it wasn’t worth the effort and released him before he had a chance to show what he can do.
The Broncos are his chance, maybe his last one in the NFL. Talent has never really been the question with White, but he has to pull the rest of the equation together, at least if he really wants to be a professional football player.
The proof, either way, will be on the field.
Jeff Legwold: 303-954-2359 or jlegwold@denverpost.com
