October 23rd 2024.
On Wednesday, there was positive news for Denver Broncos fans as cornerback Pat Surtain II returned to practice as a full participant. This is a good sign that he is making progress through the league's concussion protocol and could potentially return to the game soon.
According to head coach Sean Payton, Surtain still has some work to do before he can be cleared to play, but his trajectory is looking positive. After a full day of practice, Surtain is on track to return for Sunday's home game against the Carolina Panthers.
Surtain, who is an All-Pro cover man, suffered a concussion in the first defensive play of the Broncos' Week 6 home loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on October 13. He did not participate in the open portion of last week's walkthrough before the team traveled to New Orleans, where they beat the Saints on Thursday night.
Fortunately, the extra time between Thursday's game and the weekend gave Surtain enough time to go through the initial phases of the protocol, such as meetings and conditioning work. Now, full participation in practice is the final step, but he must pass without experiencing any concussion-related symptoms in order to be officially cleared.
As the NFL's trading deadline approaches on November 5th, there has already been a lot of activity around the league with notable players, like DeAndre Hopkins and Davante Adams, being traded in the past week. Payton stated that he is in constant communication with general manager George Paton and is constantly keeping an eye out for potential trades. However, at this point, most of the work is just exploratory.
Payton compared the current trade market to the anticipation of a homecoming dance, with teams putting out feelers and seeing what options are available. It remains to be seen if the Broncos will make any moves before the deadline.
In terms of injuries, defensive lineman Malcolm Roach was absent from Wednesday's practice due to an illness. Safety P.J. Locke, who played every snap in the game against the Saints, was listed as a limited participant due to a thumb injury. This will be something to monitor throughout the week. Additionally, right tackles Mike McGlinchey and Alex Palczewski were both limited participants. McGlinchey returned from injured reserve and played in the game against New Orleans, while Palczewski has missed the past two games.
Running back Tyler Badie, who suffered a back injury in Week 4 against the New York Jets, was seen doing conditioning work on the side field. It's a good sign to see him back on the field, but he still remains on injured reserve.
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