Former Broncos running back Ronnie Hillman dies at age 31 of cancer

Ronnie Hillman (YouTube)

According to Matt Foster of CNN on Thursday, former Denver Broncos running back Ronnie Hillman of Long Beach, California died at the age of 31 on Wednesday. Hillman is the second former National Football League running back who died this week. He is joined by Hall of Famer and former Pittsburgh Steeler legend Franco Harris of Fort Dix, New Jersey, who died on Tuesday at the age of 72. 

Hillman played five seasons in the NFL from 2012 to 2016. He was with the Broncos for four years from 2012 to 2015, and then shared his final NFL season with the Minnesota Vikings and San Diego Chargers in 2016.

In five seasons, Hillman had 494 rushes for 1976 yards and 12 touchdowns. He also had 74 catches for 524 yards and one receiving touchdown. Hillman’s best NFL season came in 2015 when he set career highs in rushing yards (863), rushing touchdowns (seven), and receptions (24).

In the six times in his career that Hillman had a 100-yard rushing game, the Broncos won. He had 100 yards on October 12, 2014 in a 31-17 Broncos win over the New York Jets, 109 yards on October 23, 2014 in a 35-21 Broncos win over the San Diego Chargers, 103 yards on October 4, 2015 in a 23-20 Broncos win over the Minnesota Vikings, 111 yards on October 18, 2015 in a 26-23 Broncos win over the Cleveland Browns, 102 yards on November 22, 2015 in a 17-15 Broncos win over the Chicago Bears, and a career game-high 117 yards on January 3, 2016 in a 27-20 Broncos win over the San Diego Chargers.

Hillman also played in two NFL regular season games where he found the end zone twice. Those came in a 42-17 Broncos win over the San Francisco 49ers on October 19, 2014, and in a 29-10 Broncos win the Green Bay Packers on November 1, 2015.

Hillman won a Super Bowl with the Broncos in 2016. That year the Broncos beat the Carolina Panthers 24-10. In five postseason games, Hillman had 56 carries for 145 yards, and four catches for 27 yards.

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