ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Denver Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain II, a two-time first-team All-Pro and the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, said Friday he feels a little “anxious,” but is more than ready to return to the lineup for Sunday night’s game against the Washington Commanders.
Surtain had missed the past three games with a partially torn pectoral muscle, a stretch he said was the longest he had gone without playing in a season in any year he has played football.
“No doubt, so it was a little different for me,” Surtain said.
In addition to linebacker Alex Singleton’s return from cancer surgery Nov. 7 — Singleton missed just one game after he had a cancerous tumor removed from a testicle — it means the Broncos (9-2) will be at full strength defensively to face the Commanders.
Denver leads the NFL in sacks (49) as well as lowest QBR for opposing quarterbacks (46.7) and is third in the league in scoring defense.
The team, with Kris Abrams-Draine and rookie Jahdae Barron splitting time in Surtain’s spot depending on personnel groupings, went 3-0 in games Surtain missed. The Broncos have an eight-game win streak, their longest since an 11-game run to finish out the 2012 regular season.
“Them guys, they exude a lot of confidence out there, they were playing lights out, it made me a fan to watch on the sidelines,” Surtain said. “… You could tell everybody was together, flying around, playing good ball.”
“We kind of had those two young guys split Pat’s role and it’s worked out for both guys,” Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said. “And moving forward it’s huge for our team to have those guys play so many meaningful reps. To get Pat back now, we have no worries. Depth is what you have to have to win a championship, and we have that [at cornerback] now.”
Surtain suffered his injury when he made a tackle with 22 seconds left in the first half of the Broncos’ Week 8 win over the Dallas Cowboys. Surtain’s left arm and shoulder twisted awkwardly as he tried to pull wide receiver George Pickens to the ground after a reception.
Denver did not place Surtain on injured reserve, and the team’s bye week last Sunday enabled him to return to practice this week after he had missed just three games.
“At first, I didn’t know the severity of it, obviously in the heat of the moment you don’t know if it’s a tear or a strain,” Surtain said. “Got the best news I could get from it. … I attacked rehab the right way, got it back stronger.”
Surtain has 21 tackles this season. Before this season, Surtain had missed just two games in his career, one as a rookie in 2021 and one last season.