Jack Dempsey/Associated Press Denver Broncos running back Phillip Lindsay was ejected during Sunday's matchup against the Baltimore Ravens, according to Mike Klis of 9News. Troy Renck of Denver7 broke down the situation that led to Lindsay's ejection: You can see the play below: As Lindsay Jones of The Athletic noted after he was given the boot, the process for determining ejections in NFL games has changed: Lindsay, 24, has been battling with fellow rookie Royce Freeman for touches in Denver's backfield this season. Coming into Sunday, Lindsay had rushed 29 times for 178 yards and added three receptions for 35 yards and a score. His ejection is a blow for a Denver offense that came into Sunday leaning heavily on its rushing attack, averaging 157 yards on the ground per contest. While Lindsay was averaging 6.1 yards per carry after two games, Freeman was posting a more modest 4.3 yards per carry. Freeman did rush for a touchdown after Lindsay was ejected, however, for fantasy players monitoring the backfield. Devontae Booker is also an option in the backfield for Denver against Baltimore with Lindsay out of the game.<doc-sep>Question: Is the Broncos’ best running back Royce Freeman or Phillip Lindsay? Kiz: Among all the rookies in the Broncos’ ballyhooed 2018 class, the player that made the biggest impact during the 27-24 victory over Seattle in season-opener was … Phillip Lindsay. Am I wrong? After watching Lindsay rush for 71 yards and catch a 29-yard touchdown pass, teammate Chris Harris Jr. said it could not be a better story. Or could it? Might Lindsay become the envy of all those fantasy-league owners that drafted Royce Freeman? O’Halloran: I literally have about four non-family friends, but about three dozen people came out of hiding to ask me about Freeman’s fantasy potential when Vance Joseph made him the starter last week. I should have suggested drafting Lindsay instead because of his big-play potential. Lindsay is the great story, but Freeman carrying the run game is more ideal for the Broncos because it allows them to use Lindsay in creative ways. Kiz: From the instant Denver signed Lindsay as an undrafted free agent, I shouted he would make the team. But I didn’t see this coming. If Freeman is the No. 1 running back on the roster, then Lindsay is No. 1A. The three interceptions thrown by Case Keenum against Seattle was a reminder that if the Broncos ask their new quarterback to do too much, it’s going to be trouble. The beauty of Lindsay? He gives Denver a home-run threat on safe play calls. O’Halloran: Exhibit A — On Lindsay’s touchdown catch, he caught it behind the line of scrimmage. A low-risk throw by Keenum that produces the ultimate reward. I thought Lindsay would get more touches than Booker against Seattle, but not by a 17-4 advantage. Against Oakland, I would get Booker more involved in the run game and keep Lindsay a part of the pass game because as Kiz said, he can turn safe into spectacular. Kiz: Was this a wonderful coming-out party, or an trend? Can Lindsay bear the load of double-digit touches per game? I saw him as Danny Woodhead 2.0, and figured 300 yards rushing and 300 more receiving would qualify as a big rookie year for Lindsay. You predicted a 1,000-yard rushing season for Freeman. Is it too early to adjust our expectations? I’m ready to believe Lindsay’s contributions as a runner and receiver might produce a total of 1,000 yards from scrimmage. O’Halloran: I’ll stick with Freeman getting at least 1,000 yards because if Sunday’s game is a trend, the Broncos will have plenty of fourth-quarter carries to distribute. I looked up Woodhead’s statistics. He had two years of 1,000-plus all-purpose yards. I would bet the “under” on Lindsay because of the Broncos’ receiver/tight end depth. The Broncos would be smart not to overtax Lindsay (10 touches? Yes; 17 touches? Not every week).<doc-sep>The Denver Broncos announced on Saturday that they placed second-year tight end Jake Butt on the season ending IR list and promoted tight end Brian Parker off their practice squad. We've placed TE Jake Butt on injured reserve and promoted TE Brian Parker to the active roster. » https://t.co/JmsHhrpv7f pic.twitter.com/iGS3NsaAdS — Denver Broncos (@Broncos) September 29, 2018 Butt tore his ACL during practice this week and will miss the season. This is now his third ACL injury during his football career. Makes you wonder how much longer he can continue playing football with three major injuries to his knees. As for Parker, he was on the Broncos roster throughout the offseason, Training Camp, and Preseason. However, he was among the cuts made to trim the roster down to 53-players. He went unclaimed through waivers and ended up on the Broncos 10-man practice squad. Now, Parker has a spot on the Broncos 53-man roster after the injury to Butt. Parker was an undrafted free agent out of the University of Albany for the San Diego Chargers back in 2015. Since then, he has been on the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs rosters before joining the Broncos roster. His only regular season action came in 2016 when he played in 9 games for the Kansas City Chiefs. He totaled just 1 catch for 6 yards during that stint. The Broncos tight ends now consist of the oft-injured Jeff Heuerman who is your starter, Matt LaCosse who is now your number two tight end and Brian Parker who is now your third tight end. The Broncos tight end unit is likely the weakest in the entire NFL and I wouldn’t be surprised if they decided to bring in a veteran early next week to help replace Butt’s spot on the roster.<doc-sep>
Phillip Lindsay isn't facing further punishment for last Sunday's fracas. Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic reports the Denver Broncos' rookie running back will not be suspended by the NFL for his ejection against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 3. Lindsay was tossed after the referees determined he threw punches amid a dog pile for a loose ball. The disqualification was mystifying as it's still unclear whether Lindsay acted maliciously. “I couldn’t see if he threw a punch or not, but I saw him dive into the pile, which is illegal, so he can’t do it," Broncos coach Vance Joseph said Monday. "There were three guys who dove into the pile. It was [TE Marlon] Humphrey for them—he was the first guy—then [G Ronald] Leary dove into the pile and then Phillip dove into the pile. It should’ve been penalties on all three of those guys because that’s against the rules. But, I didn’t see a punch being thrown. I couldn’t tell if a punch was thrown. He said he didn’t throw a punch, but we have to own the penalties. We can’t talk around the penalties, we have to own them. They called them, so we have to own them.” What's next for the Denver Broncos? Don’t miss out on any news, take a second to sign up for our FREE Broncos newsletter! CBS cameras caught Lindsay seemingly jabbing at the ball, not the opponent, following a strip-sack on quarterback Case Keenum. The officiating crew huddled for what seemed like an eternity before ejecting Lindsay and docking Denver, pushing them out of field goal range. For his part, Lindsay held firm that he was simply fighting for the fumble. “The ball ended up squirting back out," he explained after the game. "Another Raven dude jumped on the pile, so I went there. … You try to make a play for your team, but we’re right there on the 34-yard line, and once I tried to hit the ball out, it looked like I was swinging at somebody.” That isn't to say he was proud of the end result. Quite the opposite. “I feel horrible,” Lindsay said. “I feel horrible, because I’m not out there with my team. And that’s my fault. That’s something I’m going to learn from. It’s never going to happen again.” Now in no danger of missing additional time, Lindsay will get a chance at redemption in a prime Week 4 matchup against the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football. The Chiefs' defense ranks at or near the bottom in most major statistical categories, including points allowed (30th), total yards (32nd), passing yards allowed (32nd) and rushing yards (18th). Through three games (two-and-a-half in his case), Lindsay is the Broncos' leading rushing with 198 yards on 33 carries. He's also chipped in three receptions for 35 yards and a touchdown.