Royce Deion Freeman (born February 24, 1996) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

for the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

High school career

Freeman attended

Imperial High School Imperial Unified School District is a public school district based in Imperial County, California, United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Cont ...

Imperial, California Imperial is a city in Imperial County, California, north of El Centro. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 14,758. It is part of the El Centro metropolitan area. In 2016, Imperial was the fourth fastest-growing city in the sta ...

, where he played running back for the Tigers

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

team. Freeman made his varsity debut as a freshman against Southwest High School (El Centro, CA.) His second career carry was a 63-yard touchdown run. He finished his freshman year with 225 yards on 26 carries and one rushing touchdown. As a sophomore, he ran for 2,075 yards on 162 carries and ran for 35 touchdowns. He also caught 14 passes for 153 yards and added two receiving touchdowns and returned two interceptions for touchdowns. As a junior, he ran for 2,482 yards on 201 carries and ran for 34 touchdowns. He caught 10 passes for 137 yards and had two touchdown receptions. As a senior, he ran for 2,824 yards on 256 carries and ran for 41 touchdowns. He also caught 8 passes for 116 yards and added two receiving touchdowns. He finished his high school playing career with 7,606 rushing yards on 645 carries (11.8 yards per carry) and ran for 111 touchdowns. Freeman also recorded six receiving touchdowns and two interceptions returned for touchdown (119 total touchdowns). During his senior season, Freeman set three San Diego section career records. Against

Calexico High School Calexico High School is a public high school located in Calexico, California. Statistics Demographics 2020-2021 Enrollment by Ethnicity: Notable alumni * Kiki Camarena Enrique "Kiki" Camarena Salazar (July 26, 1947 – February 9, 1 ...

, Freeman broke the career rushing record of 6,694 yards which was set by Ricky Seale of Escondido High School. The following week against Central High School, Freeman broke the career-rushing touchdown record of 105 set by Rashaan Salaam of La Jolla Country Day High School. In the final week of the regular season, Freeman broke the career-points-scored record of 697 points set by Dillon Baxter of Mission Bay High School. Freeman is the San Diego Section record-holder for career rushing yards (7,606), career rushing touchdowns (111), and career points scored (724). Freeman was considered a five-star recruit by

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College career

2014 season

Freeman came to Oregon as the highest rated recruit of the 2014 class. He immediately impressed coaches in practice and camp, and competed for the starting role with

Byron Marshall Byron Marshall (born February 13, 1994) is an American football running back who is currently a free agent. He was most recently a member of the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Oregon, and w ...

and

Thomas Tyner Thomas Tyner (born September 14, 1994) is a former running back in American football. He played college football with the Oregon Ducks for the 2013 and 2014 seasons, and with the Oregon State Beavers in 2017. He did not play during the 2015 and ...

. All three were listed as co-starters at the running back position to start the 2014 season. Freeman, the heaviest of the three, established himself as a "power back," an element missing in the Oregon offense since the 2008 season. He finished the season with 252 carries for 1,365 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns, while having 16 receptions for 158 yards and one receiving touchdown. He even had a 26-yard passing touchdown to quarterback

Marcus Mariota Marcus Ardel Taulauniu Mariota (born October 30, 1993) is an American football quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted second overall by the Tennessee Titans in the 2015 NFL Draft. Mariota play ...

in a 31-24 loss to the

Arizona Wildcats The Arizona Wildcats are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Arizona, located in Tucson, Arizona, Tucson. The Wildcats compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Divis ...

. At the end of the season, he was awarded Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year.

2015 season

Freeman started the 2015 season off strong with 180 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns against

Eastern Washington Eastern Washington is the region of the U.S. state of Washington located east of the Cascade Range. It contains the city of Spokane (the second largest city in the state), the Tri-Cities, the Columbia River and the Grand Coulee Dam, the Hanfor ...

. On October 3, against

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

, he had 163 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns in the 41–24 victory. The next week, against

Washington State Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

, he had 246 rushing yards, two rushing touchdowns, and a receiving touchdown in the 45–38 2OT loss. The next week, he rushed for 138 yards in a victory over

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. In the next game, at

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

, he had 110 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns in the victory. On November 27, against

Oregon State Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering col ...

, he had 167 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns to go with 51 receiving yards. In the

Alamo Bowl The Alamo Bowl is an NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football bowl game played annually since 1993 in the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Since 2010 it matches the second choice team from the Pac-12 Conference and the secon ...

against TCU, he had 130 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns in the 47–41 3OT loss. Overall, as a sophomore, Freeman had 1,836 rushing yards and 17 rushing touchdowns to go along with 26 receptions for 348 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns. He led the Pac-12 in rushing touchdowns on the season.

2016 season

In the 2016 season opener against

UC Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...

, Freeman had 87 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. In the next game, against

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, he had 207 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. On October 1, in a game at

, he had 138 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns. On November 19, against

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, he had 129 rushing yards and a receiving touchdown. Overall, as a junior, Freeman recorded 945 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns to go along with 23 receptions for 144 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown.

2017 season

In the 2017 season opener against

Southern Utah Southern Utah University (SUU) is a public university in Cedar City, Utah. Founded in 1897 as a normal school, Southern Utah University now graduates over 1,800 students each year with baccalaureate and graduate degrees from its six colleges. ...

, Freeman had 150 rushing yards, four rushing touchdowns, and 50 receiving yards. In the next game, against

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

, he had 153 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. He continued his hot streak with 157 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns against

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

in the following game. On October 14, against

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

, he had 143 rushing yards but the Ducks lost 49–7. In the next game, he had 139 rushing yards against

. On November 18, against

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, he had 135 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns. In his final collegiate game, he had 122 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns against

in a 69–10 victory. Overall, Freeman finished his stellar collegiate career with 1,475 rushing yards and 16 rushing touchdowns to go along with 14 receptions for 164 receiving yards in the 2017 season.

Statistics

Awards & honors

2014 * Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year (Pac-12 Coaches) * Pac-12 All-Conference 2nd Team (Pac-12 Coaches)

Records

Oregon * Freshman Rushing Yards, 1,353 * Freshman Rushing Touchdowns, 19 * Career Rushing Yards, 5,621 * Career Rushing Touchdowns, 60 High School * San Diego Section Career Rushing Yards, 7,606 * San Diego Section Career Rushing Touchdowns, 111 * San Diego Section Career Points Scored, 724

Professional career

On November 20, 2017, Freeman officially accepted his invitation to play in the

2018 Senior Bowl The 2018 Senior Bowl was an all-star college football exhibition game featuring players from the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season, and prospects for the 2018 draft of the professional National Football League (NFL). The game was the last ...

. Freeman sustained an injury and did not play in the 2018 Reese's Senior Bowl. Freeman attended the

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footb ...

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

and performed all of the combine and positional drills. He finished ninth among all running backs in the 40-yard dash, tied for 12th in the bench press, and also finished third among his position group in the three-cone drill and short shuttle. Freeman displayed quickness and agility especially for a running back of his size and was able to impress scouts with his overall performance. On March 15, 2018, Freeman participated at Oregon's pro day, but opted to stand on his combine numbers and only performed positional drills. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Freeman was projected to be a third round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked the eighth best running back in the draft by

Scouts Inc. Scouts Inc. is a partner of ESPN Inc. that specializes in scouting and evaluating current and future players and teams in professional, college and high school sports. The content is provided on the ESPN television networks, ESPN Radio and ESPN in ...

and was ranked the ninth best running back by DraftScout.com.

Denver Broncos

The

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

selected Freeman in the third round (71st overall) of the

2018 NFL Draft The 2018 NFL Draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas; it was the first draft ...

. Freeman was the eighth running back drafted in 2018. Royce Freeman

On July 5, 2018, the Denver Broncos signed Freeman to a four-year, $3.94 million

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...

that includes a

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

of $997,020.

2018 season: Rookie year

Entering his first training camp, Freeman was slated to be the Broncos' starting running back, but he faced minor competition from

Devontae Booker Devontae Booker (born May 27, 1992) is an American football running back who is a free agent. He played college football at the University of Utah. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft. Early years Book ...

. After a very impressive training camp and preseason, head coach

Vance Joseph Vance Desmond Joseph (born September 20, 1972) is an American football coach and former player who is the defensive coordinator of the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). Previously he was the head coach of the Denver Bronco ...

officially named Freeman the starting running back to begin the season. Freeman made his first career start and NFL regular-season debut in the Broncos' 27–24 victory over the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

in the season opener. He had 15 carries for 71 rushing yards in the win. In the following game, Freeman scored his first professional rushing touchdown in the 20–19 victory over the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

. In Week 4, on ''

Monday Night Football ''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, AB ...

'' against the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

, Freeman had 8 carries for 67 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown for the third consecutive game. Against the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

in Week 7, Freeman recorded 13 carries for 37 yards before suffering an ankle injury which kept him sidelined for two games. After returning from his injury, Freeman lost his starting job to fellow rookie

Phillip Lindsay Phillip Lindsay (born July 24, 1994) is an American football running back who is a free agent. Lindsay was born in Denver, Colorado, grew up in Aurora, Colorado, and attended South High School in Denver where he became the school's all-time le ...

. Overall, Freeman finished his rookie season with 132 carries for 521 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns.

2019 season

Heading into his second training camp, Freeman faced competition for the starting running back job from

. Although Freeman opened preseason as the Broncos' starting running back, he was surpassed by Lindsay on the depth chart. At the conclusion of preseason, new head coach

Vic Fangio Victor Mick Fangio (born August 22, 1958) is an American football coach who is the defensive consultant for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). Fangio most recently served as the head coach of the Denver Broncos of the ...

named Freeman the No. 2 running back on the depth chart behind Lindsay. Freeman made his 2019 regular-season debut in the Broncos' season-opening 16–24 loss to the

, recording 10 carries for 56 rushing yards. The following week against the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

in a 16–14 loss, Freeman recorded 11 carries for 54 rushing yards and 5 receptions for 48 yards. In Week 3 against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

in a 16–27 loss, Freeman recorded 15 carries for 63 rushing yards and four receptions for 10 yards. Despite splitting carries with Lindsay and starting the season on a strong note, Freeman struggled from Weeks 4–8 and received less of a role on offense in the second half of the season. He finished the 2019 season with 130 carries for 496 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns to go along with 43 receptions for 256 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown.

2020 season

With the addition of veteran running back

Melvin Gordon Melvin Gordon III (born April 13, 1993) is an American football running back for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Wisconsin, and was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the first roun ...

, Freeman was pushed down to the No. 3 running back role. He finished the 2020 season with 35 carries for 170 rushing yards and 12 receptions for 81 receiving yards.

2021 season

While

left in free agency to sign with the

, the Broncos also signed

Mike Boone Mike Boone (born June 30, 1995) is an American football running back for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Cincinnati and signed with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2018. ...

in free agency and drafted

Javonte Williams Javonte Williams (born April 25, 2000) is an American football running back for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at North Carolina Tar Heels football, North Carolina and was drafted by the Bron ...

in the

2021 NFL Draft The 2021 NFL Draft was the 86th National Football League Draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland from April 29 to May 1, 2021 ...

. Freeman entered training camp competing for a roster spot as a backup. On September 1, 2021, Freeman was waived by the Broncos.

Carolina Panthers

On September 2, 2021, Freeman was claimed off waivers by the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

. He played in eight games before being released on November 8.

Houston Texans

On November 9, 2021, Freeman was claimed off waivers by the

. He finished the 2021 season with 56 carries for 169 rushing yards and ten receptions for 77 receiving yards. Freeman re-signed with the Texans on March 25, 2022. On September 9, 2022, Freeman was released from the Texans and re-signed to the practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on December 17.

NFL career statistics

References

External links

*
Houston Texans bio

Oregon Ducks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman, Royce 1996 births Living people People from Imperial County, California Players of American football from California American football running backs Oregon Ducks football players Denver Broncos players Carolina Panthers players Houston Texans players