Even in the spring, Justin Strnad had faith that the grass wouldn’t be greener.

The Broncos linebacker grinned Sunday night at his locker, validated. When he re-upped with Denver in March on the very morning free agency opened, it hardly made a dent in the public sphere — a 29-year-old veteran backup quickly drowned out by the subsequent splash of Dre Greenlaw’s signing. But Strnad could’ve ventured elsewhere and looked for a starting job.

Denver was lucky he didn’t come Week 1 against the Titans.

“I really believe in Coach Vance,” Strnad told The Denver Post after the Broncos’ 20-12 win over Tennessee. “All the guys we have in this room, I figured we can do something special this year. So I figured, come back and run it back.”

His presence has been a constant as Greenlaw’s prolonged rehab from a quad injury has muddied Denver’s depth plans at inside linebacker. Greenlaw’s status was “a little back-and-forth all week,” as Strnad put it, with the star free agent missing practice Wednesday through Friday. And Strnad — just as he was thrown in for eight starts last season — was suddenly tabbed to start Week 1 alongside Alex Singleton.

“We didn’t really know … what Dre’s situation was looking like, but I knew that if he wasn’t going to be able to go, I was going to have to roll,” Strnad said. “So, just stay composed, and just let it rip.”

Strnad ripped Sunday in one of the best games of his five-year Broncos career, racking up five tackles (with one TFL), two quarterback hits and a sack. He shot through gaps. He wrestled down star Titans back Tony Pollard one-on-one. He looked like the heart-of-the-defense upgrade the Broncos envisioned when they signed Greenlaw, flying sideline-to-sideline and only allowing one catch for four yards in coverage.

“When you look at the amount of snaps Strnad’s had,” Payton said this summer, “all of the sudden, now there’s a confidence: ‘I’m not just a guy running down on special teams. I started a whole season.’”

If Strnad’s Sunday leap is real, that will quell short-term concerns over the Broncos’ linebacker depth. The organization has taken a notably conservative approach to managing Greenlaw’s health. After largely refusing to touch on Greenlaw’s health last week, Payton dropped a nugget when responding to a question about safety Talanoa Hufanga on Monday.

“There’s drive to be real special, and to win,” Payton said on Hufanga. “And, look, it was like A and B — Greenlaw possesses the same things, and you’re going to see him sooner than later.”

That could mean a wide range of outcomes, however. Payton hasn’t exactly been a public oracle when it comes to Greenlaw. In late July, when he had a flare-up of his quad tear, Payton said it was a “different area.” In mid-August, Payton said Greenlaw’s pitch count would increase in a subsequent week. It did, and then he was out completely in the lead-up to Week 1.

Still, Greenlaw’s been visible in the locker room and around the team, even as he declined this week to speak to reporters about his injury.

“Dre’s working his tail off to get back,” Strnad said. “He’s obviously battled some injuries over the years, and he’s doing everything he can to get back. He’s somebody that’s going to help us win games.”

The Broncos haven’t yet elected to place Greenlaw on short-term injured reserve, indicating they view him on more of a week-to-week timeframe than a month-long absence. If Payton’s words ring true, Denver could see him as early as Sunday in Indianapolis — or, more importantly, in two weeks against the Chargers and lightning-armed Justin Herbert.

Until then, though, Strnad is the man in the middle.

“Dre’s a great player, we brought him in this offseason, and we’re obviously expecting big things from him,” Strnad said. “But you just gotta prepare every day as if you’re gonna start. Because you never know what’s gonna happen in this league.”

Want more Broncos news? Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis.