Hopefully, Alex Singleton feels, he will sit down in five years and be able to process the mess that life has thrown at him. Perhaps when daughter Tallyn is old enough to understand, and he can look at her and realize the truth that briefly threw his career for a loop.
Wow, I had cancer.
“It’s just on to the next thing,” Singleton reflected in a late-November conversation with The Denver Post. “Which is kinda how this world goes.”
On Thursday, though, the Broncos linebacker got a tangible reminder of the past year’s ordeal. If ever there was a lock to win the Broncos’ Ed Block Courage Award, it was Singleton.
He officially earned the mantle after a remarkable year-plus of perseverance. Singleton missed the final 14 games of the 2024 season after tearing his ACL in September. Then in his first day back in pads this summer, he broke his thumb. Singleton broke the thumb in a different place later on while playing in a hard plastic cast.
That alone might have been enough to earn him the award, but those injuries paled in comparison to what waited for him in late October: a failed drug test led eventually to Singleton being diagnosed with testicular cancer. Despite not knowing at the time of his diagnosis if his football career could shortly be over, Singleton made the immediate decision to play a subsequent Thursday night game against the Las Vegas Raiders — and recorded nine tackles the night before having surgery to remove the tumor.
He missed just one game after the procedure, received clear scans, and returned to the field Nov. 30 at Washington.
Singleton, 31, leads the Broncos in tackles at 111, well ahead of safety Talanoa Hufanga at 97. In three games since returning to the field, Singleton has played all but three snaps, standing on the sideline for one play each in wins at Washington, at Las Vegas and home against the Packers.
“As long as he’s standing up and can play, he’s always going to be out there,” linebacker Justin Strnad said of Singleton in November. “That’s just how he is. And that’s how he’s always been since he’s been here.”
Throckmorton waived
In a move that could be a sign of activations to come, Denver waived veteran offensive lineman Calvin Throckmorton on Sunday. If Throckmorton clears waivers, the Broncos would likely sign him back to their practice squad, still carrying an open spot after releasing running back Sincere McCormick this week.
It opens a spot on the Broncos’ 53-man roster just in time — potentially — for either guard Ben Powers or linebacker Karene Reid to return from injured reserve. Powers, though, was still a limited participant in practice Thursday, and could wait another week to return at right guard. The Broncos do need linebacker depth and could elect to activate Reid off IR this week, as LB3 Strnad (ankle) missed another practice.
Lombardi lauds receivers
Four different Bronco wideouts caught a touchdown Sunday against the Packers, and the stat sheet was littered with standout performances by skill players: Courtland Sutton went for 113 yards, Troy Franklin caught all six of his targets, and practice-squad mainstay Michael Bandy even chipped in for his first NFL score.
Broncos offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi, who’s been coaching in the NFL for two decades, gave the group a compliment of the highest order Wednesday.
“I told the receivers, ‘I think that’s one of the better games I’ve ever been a part of, from a receiver room,’” Lombardi said.
Want more Broncos news? Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis.