The Denver Broncos have been without their star on defense for the past couple of weeks in Pat Surtain II. The 2024 Defensive Player of the Year suffered a pectoral strain in the second quarter of Denver’s Week 8 win over the Dallas Cowboys, and has been sidelined ever since.
While the Broncos’ secondary has held up fine in the two and a half games without Surtain on the field, his presence has still been dearly missed. They’ve gotten away with his absence against the Texans and Raiders, two teams that don’t exactly have the most dynamic pass attack in the league, but Sunday’s pivotal AFC West showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs will show just how ready the rest of the guys in that room are.
Denver didn’t opt to put Surtain on IR after he suffered the injury, which was a good sign that the injury wasn’t as serious as some would thought when it happened. That would’ve put him out for a minimum of four weeks, which still would’ve put him on track to make his return against the Washington Commanders, which could still happen. He hasn’t practiced this week, a sign that he’ll be out for the Chiefs game, but detailed how his road to recovery is going on his podcast, “Closed on Sundays.”
“I feel like Wolverine,” Surtain said. “I feel like I’m healing the right way. Everything’s going on schedule, I mean, shoot, your boy moving his arm a little bit now… getting back to my regular movement system.”
For those who aren’t familiar, Wolverine is a superhero from old comics that has a mutant ability that lets him heal from almost any injury.
The star corner also said he can do a pushup, a good sign for the health of his pec.
“We’re progressing. It’s small, small increments, so, the shoulder’s feeling good. I’m ready to get back out there. I’m tired of watching. I’m tired of waiting.”
He didn’t detail a timeline for his return, but Broncos fans are hoping it’s either for the Washington game on Nov. 30 or the Las Vegas game on Dec. 7.
PAT SURTAIN IS MOTIVATED BY HIS TEAMMATES’ PERFORMANCES
An important aspect of Surtain’s absence from the field is that he hasn’t been absent from the team. He’s still be supporting his guys as much as he can while rehabbing the injury, and has been happy to see some of the guys below him on the depth chart get opportunities to make some plays.
“It’s positive, because, for me and my perspective now, you open to see everyone else. Kris Abrams-Draine, he gets to go in there and make his plays. That excites me, that’s what fuels me going into the games now. I want to see everybody win, everybody succeed and get their reps. It’s definitely something like, ‘Man, I wish I was out there,’ but at the same time, if everybody’s winning, I’m good. That’s just the type of person I am,” Surtain said.
Surtain hasn’t officially been ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Chiefs, but it’s likely that he will be following two days of DNPs at Broncos practice.
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