The Denver Broncos have been without All-Pro cornerback Pat Surtain II since Week 8, but the star defender insists he’s making rapid progress.
Surtain suffered a pectoral strain during Denver’s big win over the Dallas Cowboys in Week 8.,
As The SportsRush noted, While the injury forced him to miss two straight games, he says his body is responding in a great way.
“It makes me anxious to go back out there,” Surtain told Closed on Sundays.
“Because now you can see how many more plays I can make… them boys eating up front. I feel like Wolverine, my dog.”
“I feel like Wolverine, my dog,” Surtain said. “Everything’s going on schedule. Your boy moving his arm a little bit now.
“I can do a push-up. My strength is coming back. We progressing in small increments.”
The Broncos’ defense has dominated in his absence, but that dominance has only heightened Surtain’s urge to rejoin the lineup.
“It makes me anxious to go back out there,” he said.
“Because now you can see how many more plays I can make. How aggressive I can be, because them boys eating up front.”
Despite his optimism, Surtain remained a DNP on Denver’s Wednesday injury report and is still trending toward another missed game in Week 11.
Surtain’s pectoral strain initially sparked concern that he might have needed to go on injured reserve, which would have guaranteed a minimum four-game absence.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported early that IR was on the table, but Denver ultimately kept Surtain off the list.
This is a strong indication the injury was likely a low-grade strain and that the team believed he could return within a month.
So far, that timeline has held.
Surtain has missed Weeks 9 and 10, and while he continues to sit out practice, the cornerback says the healing process is “right on schedule.”
His ability to regain movement, push-up strength, and pain-free arm usage all point toward a realistic return after the bye in Week 13.
His Week 11 status remains doubtful.
Surtain suffered the injury on October 26, meaning the early end of his projected 4-6 week timetable would fall just after Denver’s matchup with the Chiefs on Sunday.
He has not practiced since being sidelined, and the coaching staff has made clear he will need multiple sessions before retaking the field.
Even without their reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Denver’s defense has been nothing short of dominant.
Over the two-game stretch Surtain has missed, the Broncos have allowed the fewest points in the NFL, and rank second in sacks and yards allowed.
Their ferocious pass rush has been the story of the season, as Denver already has 46 sacks through 10 games.
They are on pace to break the single-season NFL record of 72 set by the 1984 Bears.
Surtain has taken notice of the historic pace and emphasized early in the year that Denver’s defense had the potential to be one of the all-time greats.
We could be mentioned among the greats… the 2000 Ravens, the Legion of Boom,” he said. “I said that with conviction.”
In Surtain’s absence, the cornerback unit has held strong.
However, no corner in the NFL erases top receivers the way Surtain does.
As good as this defense has been without Surtain, it came against inferior offensive competition in the Texans and Raiders.
This weekend will signal their first true offensive test against the Chiefs.
With key AFC matchups ahead and playoff positioning at stake, Denver is hopeful its Wolverine-like superstar will be back soon.
When he returns, the NFL’s hottest defense gets even scarier.
Across the National Football League, it is not common for coaches to publicly call out specific deficiencies from a player.
Last week, Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard publicly expressed the rush defense of cornerback Terrion Arnold was not acceptable.
Others may have reacted negatively, but Detroit’s young defensive back is used to being coached tough, and actually embraces it.
The relationship between Arnold and Sheppard is quite close, allowing for the young defensive back to steadily develop more and more into a complete cornerback.
Detroit’s first-year defensive coordinator quipped prior to practice on Thursday that the former first-round pick looked a little too excited for a player that is not participating at practice.
“Oh, he’s upright. He’s there a little too upright for me, for not playing. But I said, ‘You’re not practicing. Why are you so excited today?’ That’s just him. Seriously,” said Sheppard. “Kind of a little brother or father feel, whatever you want to call it. Like, he’s giving me no choice but to take that role on.
“And man, I love him, because the thing I love most about him, seriously, is that I challenged that player and I challenged him publicly. And a lot of guys can’t take that,” Sheppard added. “And I know he’s one that I can, because of the relationship we have. He knows I’m not like being demeaning towards him. I’m being very demanding, though, because I see something in him. I see what he can be and I fully expect him to not only reach that, but to usurp it. And I think he will.”
Arnold impressed the team’s defensive leader, not for play in coverage, but for a specific play against the Commanders on a run call.
“He had a play and a tight read, probably my most proudest play. His coverage speaks for itself, but I told you the part of the game I was looking for,” Sheppard said. “And you look down in the tight red, they ran a sweep to him. He had a blocker on him, he beats the blocker and goes under to make the play. That was probably my most proud play in that game with Terrion.
“A player that’s responding in an adverse situation, coach calling me out,” Sheppard commented further. “He can take that so wrong and go down in the dumps, but he did the opposite. So, I’ll be very excited knowing when I get that player back, and it would also be good to see him finish a game here.”