The Denver Broncos started training camp on Tuesday with a lot of hunger, some may even call it a chip on their shoulder.
Reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Patrick Surtain II explained the feeling from the team’s training facility on Tuesday as the team gets acclimated back to the grind.
“We’re determined,” the Broncos star defensive back explained. “We got a lot of selfless leaders out here, and that just goes a long way. There are guys who put the team first before themselves, and that goes through everybody on the team. I think it resonates pretty well with our common goal. In the playoffs last year, we didn’t get the result that we wanted, and that just adds another chip on our shoulder going into this year, and we got the right team to do so.”
More from Broncos CB Pat Surtain II: “We’ve got a lot of selfless leaders out here… We know in the playoffs last year we didn’t get the result that we wanted. That just adds another chip on our shoulder. We’ve got the right team to do it.” pic.twitter.com/1TB7Dzz5lm
— Will Petersen (@PetersenWill) July 22, 2025
The Broncos ended their long postseason drought last fall, which extended back to the team’s Super Bowl win following the 2015 season. But the fun stopped quickly as the team was walloped by the Buffalo Bills 31-7. It was a good building block for the group led by a rookie quarterback in Bo Nix, but it was nobody’s hope for the final destination.
So what should Broncos Country want to hear? That the team remains hungry to build off of last year and take a further step this fall. Many, including those bookies in Vegas, expect the Broncos to once again make the playoffs, but very few have them going far.
Can Surtain and the defense remain one of the league’s best groups, all the while Sean Payton works his magic for a second-year leap out of Nix with some revised weapons? That’s the big question as camp kicks off. At the very least, the team’s best player is already talking about his desire to do better despite being named the best at what he did last year.
