Last year, former Denver Broncos special teams coordinator Dwayne Stukes scoffed at the idea of cornerback Pat Surtain being a candidate to return punts.
“[T]o put him in harm’s way — that would be idiotic by me,” Stukes said.
New head coach Sean Payton and new special teams coordinator Ben Kotwica don’t seem to think it’s such an idiotic notion.
To be clear, Surtain will not be the team’s starting punt returner this year, but the star cornerback got reps on punt return this spring. He’d merely be a fallback option at the position.
“He did it in high school. I want to know who we are going to if [Option A] isn’t ready,” Payton said on June 13. “There are 53 on your roster and 47 on gameday. If I need a gunner taken out of the game, then who better to do that than Patrick? That’s what he does for a living. It’s not just offense go over here; defense go over here, and the kicking game go over here.
“I watched Lawrence Taylor in a game with the Giants where they were winning and the team they were playing, came back with a couple of kick returns. I watched Lawrence Taylor remove about five guys on the kick coverage unit and brought defensive players out, lined them up and covered a kick. That’s when you have something. These are snaps. There are snaps in a game that are valuable. If Surtain can help us as a returner when needed, then we’ll have him ready.”
Surtain did not return punts at Alabama, but he did in high school as Payton noted. Hall of Fame cornerback Champ Bailey returned punts in 2002 while playing in Washington, but he did not return a single punt while playing in Denver.
Most coaches feel that the potential reward of a big return does not outweigh the injury risk that star players could suffer on special teams. So Surtain won’t be listed as the team’s starting returner on the depth chart, but he will be an option for the Broncos, albeit perhaps just an emergency option.
Follow the Broncos Wire Podcast:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts
