Broncos Cornerback Pat Surtain II Expected to Miss Multiple Games Due to Injury

All-Pro cornerback Pat Surtain II will miss the next 4-to-6 weeks with a left pectoral strain. The injury will rule him out for this Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans. This is damning news for the Broncos’ front seven. Surtain has hardly even missed a game in his short, three-year career—one game during his rookie year in 2021 and one last year.

Moving forward, the Broncos intend to evaluate Surtain on a weekly basis. Without him, the team will have to put their heads together and make some big changes. They’ll have to get ready to face their next four opponents (the Texans, Las Vegas Raiders, Kansas City Chiefs and Washington Commanders) in succession. Vance Joseph, the team’s defensive coordinator, emphasized how important Surtain is to their defensive game plan. For, as Jon sweetly said of Pat’s influence, “Everything we do starts with Pat.”

With Surtain out, Kris Abrams-Draine has really come into his own over the past game, erupting for eight tackles in the second half last week. Head coach Sean Payton remarked positively on the team’s performance without their star cornerback, saying, “I think how we played was outstanding when [Surtain] wasn’t in. Kris did a fantastic job—I really thought that whole group did when we had to go a stretch without Pat’s presence on the road.

The Broncos didn’t put Surtain on IR Monday either. Should that decision be reversed, he would likely be looking at at least four games lost. His status could have a significant misuse on the rest of the roster decisions. This would practically apply to Nate Adkins’ knee injury and the return of linebacker Dre Greenlaw from his one-game suspension. The Broncos now have 3 days to sign Greenlaw to the active roster. Currently his roster exemption runs out Tuesday.

Payton admitted that losing Surtain complicates their plans somewhat defensively. “That’s a big deal, especially when a large part of your plan is dealing with rotation and matchups,” he noted. “Then all of a sudden that one element goes away, it can be a little bit disruptive.”