The topic is awkward, and maybe even embarrassing. It’s difficult to bring up in a conversation with someone you don’t know. But we are on a bench a few feet from the Broncos practice field, and the question comes out:
What did you learn from your yearlong suspension for gambling?
Eyioma Uwazurike, or Enyi as he is known to teammates, looks me straight in the eye and answers without hesitation.
“Everybody is human. Everybody makes their decisions. Everybody makes their mistakes. Nobody is perfect,” said Uwazurike, a reserve defensive lineman. “… I do know that when situations like that come your way, you learn a lot from adversity. I know I did.
“As long as you are able to overcome it and be smarter, it will help you in the long run.”
Second chances work in different ways. We would like to believe we are all worthy of them. But in sports, that is just not the case, depending on the severity of the offense and the talent of the offender. The NFL banned Uwazurike for a calendar year in 2023 after determining he bet on NFL games, including five involving the Broncos.
He made peace with himself. But he was unsure if the organization would show grace. He was, after all, a fourth-round pick in 2022. He had yet to make an impact and was drafted before coach Sean Payton arrived.
Payton has shown no reluctance to move on from players he believes don’t fit the culture or his program, like Brandon McManus, Randy Gregory, Frank Clark, and, most notably, Russell Wilson. It left Uwazurike anxious as he counted down the days to his reinstatement on Aug. 5, 2024.
“I really had no idea what was going to happen,” Uwazurike said.
Payton believed a lot of NFL players were making mistakes in 2022 and 2023 as sports gambling became ubiquitous. However, of the 11 disciplined during that time, only Lions receiver Jameson Williams and Uwazurike remain with their original team.
Payton brought Uwazurike back. And continues to show faith in him.
“It’s hard to be gone a year, and he was a young player. So to have him now — this is an important camp, training camp and season for him,” Payton said. “His size hits you, his athleticism. How he plays is infectious. So, him having a full year heading into this season will serve him well. It’s hard for any player who sits a season, so he’s done a good job bouncing back.”
It is easy to judge others when you have never screwed up. But once you do, you don’t want to be forever judged by that mistake. Because the Broncos believed in his character, Uwazurike was given a shot at redemption.
“Sean is one of the most loyal, straight-up coaches I have ever had. It definitely means a lot to me to be playing for him, playing for this organization, same with ownership and everyone in the building. They have been great,” Uwazurike said. “Just knowing that I have this community around me is the best.”
Co-owner Greg Penner said there are gradations when it comes to making these decisions, but agreed with keeping Uwazurike on the team.
“He made a mistake. He was accountable for it. You don’t want to see another one,” Penner said Wednesday. “But we felt like he deserved a second chance.”
Even if self-inflicted, the year away was brutal. Uwazurike, however, has long navigated a difficult path. He went from lightly recruited because of poor grades to making the Big 12’s all-academic team. Before facing Notre Dame in a bowl game in 2019, Uwazurike’s father, Roland, died in his sleep. He was 48.
“We were very tight. Like best friends,” said Uwazurike, who has a tattoo of his father’s face on his right forearm. “It was really tough.”
Football was always Uwazurike’s safe space, a place for joy. He struggled to reconcile how he jeopardized his career.
Growing up in Detroit, he was convinced he would reach the NFL after playing his first game as a 7-year-old. When he grew into a star athlete at Southfield-Lathrup High School, he accepted his first Division I offer from Toledo coach Matt Campbell. When Campbell took the Iowa State job, Uwazurike followed him.
He played five years for the Cyclones, morphing from a skinny defensive end into a sturdy run-stuffing tackle.
“I just like the grittiness of it. When you have 600 pounds coming your way fast, and you can stand up to it, it’s a different type of energy,” Uwazurike said. “You feel like you are the toughest person on the field at that moment.”
That is the player the Broncos have witnessed during the first week of training camp. He has been stout at the point of attack, showing the type of urgency necessary for a player on the roster bubble.
“He’s doing really good. Last year, he got thrown into the fire coming off that suspension. That was hard. He showed up here in good shape,” teammate Malcolm Roach said. “He should be able to help us.”
Uwazurike remains thankful, but the truth is he wants to show it on the field, not through his words.
Second chances are not guaranteed. The Broncos have forgiven him. Now Uwazurike wants to repay them.
“I did something. I had to take it on the chin. But I am focused on the future. I am part of a tight-knit group, a defensive line with stars. I see what greatness looks like,” Uwazurike said. “I want to show I belong. I know the player I am. I am confident in the coaches I have, the organization that I am in. I feel like when the opportunity shows up, I will be ready to take advantage of it.”
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