When the Denver Broncos held their team meeting prior to Sunday’s season opener against the Tennessee Titans, running back Jaleel McLaughlin found out that he was going to be inactive, but how he responded showcases everything you need to know about him.
Jaleel McLaughlin’s patience will eventually pay off for Broncos offense
Jaleel McLaughlin is the ultimate competitor and teammate, and despite not playing on Sunday, his response was everything you want to see in a player.
When RJ Harvey rattled off his 50-yard run in the fourth quarter, the first person to run down the sideline to help him up and celebrate with him was Jaleel.
First guy to RJ Harvey helping him up off the sideline at the end of his 50-yard run: Fellow RB Jaleel McLaughlin, who was inactive for the first time in his career.
Kinda tells you what you need to know about No. 38. pic.twitter.com/S9yd2E5XLv
— Parker Gabriel (@ParkerJGabriel) September 8, 2025
Even if Jaleel was disappointed in the team’s decision to make him inactive, he never let it show, and demonstrated selflessness, which is something Sean Payton wants his team to have. It will eventually pay off for Jaleel.
The decision to make him inactive for the first time in his Broncos career was a tough one for Sean Payton and offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi, but the game plan against Tennessee saw Tyler Badie as the third back option on third down, and because of his special teams role.
Lombardi noted on Thursday that the third running back role could be different on a week-to-week basis, which opens up the door for McLaughlin to potentially play on Sunday against the Colts, whose defense is coached by Lou Anarumo, who coached the Bengals defense last season when Jaleel had success.
“It was a tough decision,” Lombardi said. “Jaleel is such a good player. I think most of it was third down, protection, and just a little stouter in there. It’s hard to not have Jaleel up there on game day, but it was mostly protection. I think every week it will be a conversation. As you’re watching a lot of film on Cincinnati because the coordinator in Indianpolis was there last year and we’re watching our game last year and Jaleel had such a good game running it. I’m sure he’ll have games where he’s up based on injury or situations. We still feel there’s a real bright future for him.”
We’ll see if he finds a way to land in the lineup here soon.
