The Broncos are going to be without reigning defensive player of the year Pat Surtain II on Sunday against Houston and potentially for considerably longer.
The All-Pro cornerback strained his left pectoral muscle while trying to make a tackle Sunday in Denver’s win against the Cowboys, sources confirmed to The Denver Post on Monday.
The timeframe for Surtain’s return is not exactly clear at this point, though Fox Sports reported an expected absence of 4-6 weeks. Surtain is a candidate to be put on injured reserve, but such a move is not guaranteed, a source said.
If Surtain does land on injured reserve, he would miss a minimum of four games.
Renck vs. Keeler: Can Broncos extend win streak at Houston without Pat Surtain II?
Denver has an interesting schedule coming up that could impact how the team sees Surtain’s absence. The Broncos play twice in the next 10 days — at the Texans and then home against Las Vegas on Thursday night, Nov. 6 — but then have only a home game against Kansas City (Nov. 16) in a 23-day span due to a Week 11 bye. The Broncos then return to play Nov. 30 at Washington. That means a four-game absence for Surtain would take his return into December.
Conversely, a three-game absence could still give Surtain more than a month of recovery.
In the final minute of the first half, Surtain wrapped up Cowboys receiver George Pickens after a short gain and tried to wrestle him to the ground. As he did, Surtain fell to his back and let go of Pickens, who was quickly run out of bounds by safety Talanoa Hufanga.
Surtain got up after the play and tried to shake out his left shoulder, rotating it around a few times and touching his chest.
He played the next snap, a Jahdae Barron interception, and tried to jam Pickens, but looked uncomfortable. The CBS broadcast showed him trying to work out his left shoulder while talking with team medical personnel as he went back to the locker room for halftime.
Surtain did not return to the game and didn’t speak with reporters after the game, which is standard for players who don’t finish due to injury.
The two-time first-team All-Pro also missed time earlier in the game due to a lower-leg injury he sustained while knocking down a pass for Pickens in the end zone on Dallas’ opening drive.
Surtain was off to another terrific start this season.
By Next Gen Stats data, the 2021 first-round pick out of Alabama had been targeted 34 times as the nearest man in coverage and allowed 20 catches for 200 yards and no touchdowns.
In Week 7 against New York, he allowed no catches in 37 coverage snaps and entered Sunday’s game against the Cowboys allowing the lowest number of yards per coverage snap (0.7) of any defensive back in football.
In the first half against the Cowboys he continued that kind of play while mostly covering Pickens. Surtain was charged with three catches on four targets for 23 yards in his work, but overall, the Broncos did a high-quality job on Pickens and CeeDee Lamb. They each caught seven passes for 78 and 74 yards, respectively, but the pair didn’t register a play over 29 yards and didn’t get into the end zone.
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