ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Broncos linebacker Justin Strnad made a beeline toward his phone when he returned to the locker room after Wednesday’s practice. Waiting for him were several texts and alerts containing the latest information about Hurricane Milton, which was expected to make landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast late Wednesday night. He also spoke with a staff member who had been tracking the latest developments about the storm’s path.
Strnad, who grew up in Tampa, makes his offseason home in a beachfront property in Pinellas County, which was under mandatory evacuation orders as the hurricane neared. All he could do Wednesday as he and the Broncos began preparation for Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers was wait and hope for the best.
“It’s hard not being there,” Strnad said. “I’ve had family, friends and loved ones who have helped me a lot. They’ve been going over to my house and have taken things upstairs and off the garage floor because, obviously, it’s probably going to flood, just like last week. They’ve been really helpful with insurance claims and all of that.”
Wednesday’s #LACvsDEN injury report:
📰 » https://t.co/9WLKHz8pe9 pic.twitter.com/aAu31bam2K
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) October 9, 2024
The last three weeks have been a whirlwind for Strand. He played in front of dozens of friends and family members during Denver’s Week 3 road win against the Buccaneers on Sept. 22. During that game, starting inside linebacker Alex Singleton suffered an ACL tear that ended his season. As the team made its way to West Virginia to practice ahead of a trip to face the New York Jets, Strnad was thrust into a starting role. It was an opportunity three years in the making, but it came as Hurricane Helene battered his hometown. When Strnad’s work day was done, he would spend most of his time connecting with family members about the storm’s impact.
This week, he was playing the waiting game once again. It was an unfamiliar — and helpless — feeling, even for someone who grew up in Florida.
“There was one, Hurricane Charley when I was younger, that hit pretty bad,” Strnad said. “But they were saying this one was going to be one of the highest ever recorded. Hopefully, it takes a turn for the best.”
Strnad said some of his family evacuated this week. His father, who “lives a little more inland,” boarded up his house and stayed. They have all encouraged him to continue focusing the best he can on the starting role he’s deftly filled the past two weeks. Against the Jets, Strnad sacked Aaron Rodgers on the game’s first play. He led the team with a career-high nine tackles in Sunday’s win against the Raiders. Strnad has three tackles for loss in his two starts, showing decisiveness when attacking gaps. He has been strong in coverage, where he’s been targeted seven times and has allowed five catches for just 30 yards.
Justin Strnad (#40) had a strong game against the Raiders. The Broncos DL helped keep him clean, but he is reading the game well and sticks the ball carrier with every tackle. pic.twitter.com/sVS6cbVW5o
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) October 9, 2024
In short, he’s helped the Broncos keep their surging defense humming despite losing its top tackler from the past two seasons.
“He’s done a great job,” Broncos defensive end Zach Allen said. “We know what Justin can do. The outside world, they hadn’t seen it. He’s always been a great worker. He really studies it and he’s a smart guy. When Alex went down, we knew what (Strnad) was doing, and you’ve seen it these last two weeks. We have the next-man-up mentality; we know we’re a deep defense. Hopefully, no one gets injured, but we know we’ve got guys.”
Strnad was a fifth-round pick out of Wake Forest in 2020 and missed his entire rookie season with a hand injury he suffered during his first training camp. He found his way into the linebacker rotation in Vic Fangio’s defense in 2021, but he was benched after a rocky performance in a Thursday night loss to the Cleveland Browns. He saw a handful of defensive snaps in three other games that season, but he didn’t log a defensive play in 2022 or 2023. That’s not to say Strnad had not become a valuable member of the Broncos. He developed into a core special teams player for three different coordinators, making enough of an impact in that area that Denver re-signed him to a one-year deal this offseason as his rookie contract expired.
Still, he wondered at times whether he’d get another defensive chance. The Broncos added free agents like Singleton and Jonas Griffith. They drafted Drew Sanders at inside linebacker in 2023. Would Strnad ever be able to ram through the logjam?
“Going back home, my family, my trainers, everybody’s just telling me, ‘Be ready for your chance because you’re more than capable,’” Strnad said. “You do have doubt that starts to creep in a little bit because you do have guys here who are playing, and although you do have some teams who rotate ‘backers, that’s something that really hasn’t happened since I’ve been here. So I’ve really just been preparing as if I’m going to play for years, but it hasn’t happened. So it was really just staying ready. And then, when you do get your opportunity, just go out there and say, ‘Look, there’s nothing to lose, really. Just let it go.’”
Broncos coach Sean Payton, when asked Wednesday about Strnad’s impact through two weeks, said, “As coaches, we can be guilty of typecasting. Then, all of a sudden a guy gets in and you go, ‘Whoa.’ That can happen. It’s happened to me before. I love seeing it.”
Strand has buried himself this week into preparation for another big opportunity. The Broncos are seeking their fourth straight win and second in a row against a division opponent. It’s what he can control. With everything else, he has to hope for the best like so many others.
“There’s a lot going on outside,” he said. “You’ve just got to stay focused and continue to work each and every week.”
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(Top photo: Brooke Sutton / Getty Images)
