After originally signing with the Denver Broncos last spring as a rotational defender and special teams ace, inside linebacker Alex Singleton ended up starting 12 games on defense and led the team with 163 tackles.
After that productive debut season in Denver, Singleton was rewarded with a three-year, $18 million contract extension.
“He was productive,” coach Sean Payton said of Singleton at the NFL owners’ meetings last week. “I thought there was a lot of things we did well defensively. If he wasn’t [returning] — then where were we going if not [with] Alex?”
Payton noted that the linebacker — and defense overall — made some mistakes in 2022, but he took those with a grain of salt based on the situations the defense was put in.
Singleton and Josey Jewell were a solid duo at inside linebacker, and Payton wanted to bring them back for 2023.
“Those two inside guys played well, and they were available,” Payton said. “The defense in a lot of ways played well considering the time of possession, considering the field position, considering — like it’s hard to play good defense if you’re not playing complimentary football. It sounds like I’m being critical of the special teams and the offense — and I am.”
After addressing the offense and special teams units this offseason, Payton and Co. are confident the defense will have another strong showing this fall — with Singleton leading the way at inside linebacker.
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