Mile High Report
Veteran safety P.J. Locke revealed on his YouTube channel that he had spinal fusion surgery at the end of the season.
Good morning, Broncos Country.
With training camp just a few weeks away, a bit of shocking news hit the waves the other day. Earlier in the week, Denver Broncos safety P.J. Locke revealed on social media that underwent surgery this past offseason—and it wasn’t just any routine surgery.
According to the video above, Locke mentioned he was suffering from extreme lower back pain during the team’s 2024 campaign. The severity of his condition? It was eventually discovered that he had bone on bone contact between the fourth and fifth vertebrae in his spine—which needed special fusion surgery to fix.
While Locke looked great to start the year, he did struggle in coverage down the stretch. However, we now know that he was dealing with a career-threatening injury. That certainly helps put into perspective some of the issues we saw toward the end of last year. Moreover, it could have been a reason why the team made such a big free agent splash by signing Talanoa Hufanga—which was somewhat of a surprise to many across Broncos Country.
With the departure of several veterans last season, Locke saw an increase in defensive snaps last season and earned a starting role alongside fellow Texas Longhorn Brandon Jones. He was on the field some of the most of any Broncos’ defensive player. In fifteen games with fifteen starts, he played 1,000 snaps and totaled a career high 74 tackles.
Keep in mind, he was also dealing with a broken thumb that had him wearing a cast during parts of the season and caused him to miss two games. From the video, Locke says he is feeling a lot better and believes his recovery to date has been nothing short of miraculous. Prayers up for Locke as he continues this journey to overcome such a harrowing diagnosis.
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