Former first-round draft pick Knowshon Moreno is planning a comeback. The running back didn’t play at all in 2015 and played sparingly in 2014, but made it clear that he has a lot left in the tank.
“I plan on coming back. I feel good. I feel healthy,” Moreno said, via an interview with TMZ Sports. “I’m fully recovered. So I’m just doing the things I have to right now, just staying in shape and seeing where that goes…I still have a lot in the tank. Probably too much in the tank — I have to let it out. I’m really excited to get back. I just want to get back to the team atmosphere, helping the team, and most of all, competing.”
He added that while familiarity with both the Denver Broncos and Miami Dolphins would make those teams the best fits, he’d consider any NFL team a “blessing.”
Moreno was a first-round draft pick of Denver’s in 2009 and remained with the Broncos until 2013. He had his best year in that 2013 season, rushing for 1,038 yards and 10 touchdowns while adding 60 receptions for 548 yards and three touchdowns. An elbow injury early in 2014 ended that season and he hasn’t played since.
While Moreno has had issues with his knees in the past, he’s recovered from those well. The fact that his most-recent injury was to his elbow makes the prospect of a successful comeback brighter than it would have been with an injury somewhere in the leg.
With the right team, Moreno could still be valuable. He hasn’t been subjected to typical NFL wear and tear in almost two years, and he’ll only be 29 at the start of the season.