Alex Singleton couldn't believe what the Broncos offered him
Most people probably would have reacted the same way if thee Broncos did that to them.
Sometimes things happen to you and you truly can't believe it, good and bad. For the Broncos standout linebacker Alex Singleton, he couldn't believe what the Broncos told him during free agency. But this time it was good, of course.
Denver has made an emphasis on bringing in talent with Sean Payton now at the helm. Singleton was one of the guys the Broncos chose to bring back, and rightfully so. He was amazing last year, and he is excited to be back.
"I'm excited," Singleton said on the DNVR podcast. "I've been obviously talking to the guys, so I'm ready. I'm excited to get back and ready to get going. I didn't really know the last few weeks, or month, where I was going to be, so to be back, I'm hyped. I'm ready to go. Talking to Sean and George and then just knowing what we're going to do, what we're going to turn around, I'm excited to be a part of it and, not just a one year, like I know I'm going to be there, a part of the plan. So, I'm just, I'm excited. I'm ready to go."
Singleton was undoubtedly their best linebacker in every facet. He was the best in coverage, as he finished with a Pro Football Focus grade of 73. He also finished with a pass rush grade of 68.6, and a run defense grade of 82.6. Singleton also led the team in total tackles. Singleton had the highest defensive stop rate (11.7%) by any player since 2016.
Even with how good he is, this last season was really his first time getting an opportunity like the one he got. He was on practice squads before and even played in different leagues. So, he was new to the free agency aspect of things as well, and he didn't like how stressful it was.
"Yeah, it's stressful," Singleton continued. "So I talked to Sean and George going into it and, they told me I was a top priority. And even on Sunday now, it feels like it's been a week, even though it's a couple of hours. On Sunday, they were like, 'hey, we got to do some other things first, but like you're a top priority and, we'll get a contract to you soon.' I was like, okay.
"So I don't know if it's going to be Sunday night, you know, Monday morning before free agency started. So when it didn't happen when free agency started, I was like, okay. Well, is it ever coming… At about two o'clock the first one came in and I was like, oh yeah, we're staying. And then about, 10, 20 minutes later, it got finalized."
I think bringing him back, and not letting him test free agency was a no-brainer, and the Broncos did exactly that. But, what they told him during their meeting, shocked Singleton. They told him how much money he would be making, and he couldn't believe it.
"Going into this, I was like, I mean, I know how this is going to go and so when they sent the numbers, I was just like, oh shit," Singleton laughed. "It still hasn't really sunk in because I think I got so worked up. I think once I fly back there tomorrow night, I'm going to do all this stuff on Thursday. So Thursday afternoon when I see it, I might be like, oh, shit."
Per Mike Klis of Denver Nine News, Singleton is now on a three-year, $18 million contract with $9 million guaranteed.
If there is any guy on the Broncos who deserves what Singleton is getting in free agency, it's him. His journey has been incredible, and he was one of the few bright spots on last year's team.
