For the Broncos and inside linebacker Alex Singleton, the fact that the discussion is entirely about football is the victory, considering what he endured during a harrowing November in which the words “testicular cancer” entered his world.

Remarkably, Singleton returned from surgery and didn’t even land on injured reserve. But now the discussion returns to football, and decisions that are made with logic and film and data points …

PLAYER: Alex Singleton
POSITION: Inside linebacker
AGE: 32
CURRENT CONTRACT: Three years, $18 million.
EXPERIENCE: Seven previous NFL seasons, five with the Broncos; 11 total pro-football seasons including a practice-squad campaign and three years with the CFL’s Calgary Stampeders.
SPOTRAC CONTRACT PROJECTION: $4,663,788 per year.

KEY STATS:

Finished 18th among 98 ILBs (minimum 100 coverage snaps) in missed-tackle rate against the pass and 33rd among 99 ILBs against the run per Pro Football Focus.
Ranked 97th among 98 ILBs (minimum 100 coverage snaps) last season in passer rating allowed as the nearest defender in coverage per NFL’s Next Gen Stats (132.4).
Was 56th among 98 ILBs (minimum 100 coverage snaps) in 2025 in passer rating allowed in coverage per PFF (107.5).
Notched at least 130 tackles in three of four seasons with the Broncos.

WHY THE BRONCOS COULD BRING HIM BACK

Because he is the quarterback of the No. 2-ranked defense in the NFL.

As the “green dot”-wearing player on the unit — signifying the sticker on the helmet to mark the radio transmitter that allows him to receive Vance Joseph’s playcalls that he relays to his teammates — what Singleton does after the snap represents a mere fraction of his contribution. Not only does Singleton relay the call; he takes the lead in aligning the front two lines of defense.

“He is my eyes and ears on the field,” defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said in August. “He can make adjustments very quickly with his experience, but he’s a tackling machine.

“Having him back this year is going to help our defense go to the next level.”

It was hard to quibble with the result; the Broncos improved from seventh to second in the NFL in total defense, posting their highest such ranking since the club’s last world-championship season.

WHY THE BRONCOS WOULD LET HIM WALK

It’s doubtful that the Broncos keep Singleton, Dre Greenlaw and re-sign Justin Strnad. Strnad is set to hit the market; after his breakthrough season last year, some team is likely to offer him a starting role, just as the Titans did for Cody Barton last year.

The draft class is deep; to that end, NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah mocked Georgia’s CJ Allen to the Broncos in the first round. The free-agent class is also crowded, with viable options such as Jacksonville’s Devin Lloyd, Cleveland’s Devin Bush, Philadelphia’s Nakobe Dean, Kansas City’s Leo Chenal and Washington’s Bobby Wagner all with expiring contracts scheduled to hit the market at the start of the new league year. With Lloyd and Bush in particular, the Broncos could look for an upgrade in coverage.

THE OUTLOOK:

If you distill Singleton’s CV down to the type of data that belongs in actuarial tables, you’ll focus on him being 32 years of age with a torn anterior cruciate ligament just 17 months in the rear-view mirror. Some teams will red-flag him on the basis of these bullet points.

But the reality also involves a persistence that has allowed Singleton to overcome every obstacle put in front of him to forge an NFL career via the road less traveled and the path of greatest resistance.

The return of Joseph for a fourth season as defensive coordinator increases the chances of Singleton remaining with the Broncos, and makes possible the potential of re-signing him, then adding a rookie from this year’s deep inside-linebacker class with the intention of passing the baton at some point in the near future. That might be the best possibility for Singleton to return for a sixth Broncos campaign.