Thank goodness Derek Wolfe wasn’t a budget cut like so many other veterans and is back for another year with the Broncos.
Who else will give us the unfiltered truth? Who else wears his emotions on his enormous, tattoo-sleeved arms?
Here are some of the quotable quotes from Wolfe’s first press conference of the 2019 season Tuesday at the Broncos’ UCHealth Training Center headquarters:
*Much was made in week one about how all the Bronco players showed up 5 minutes early to new head coach Vic Fangio’s first team meeting. Some of this may be because of the newfound respect the players have for Fangio.
And some of it can be credited to the calendar. Leave it to Wolfe to put the early-arrival narrative in perspective.
“A lot of people have been talking about how everybody’s 5 minutes early to meetings, and that happens every year whenever you first show up. Everybody shows up 5 minutes early the first couple weeks.
“But what happens in Week 16 when everybody’s beat to hell and nobody feels like being around this building and we’re all sick and tired of each other? Are you still showing up 5 minutes early? That’s when it counts.”
*Both Wolfe and teammate Chris Harris Jr. are in the final year of what they, and many others around the league, have termed “team discount” contract extensions.
Harris is unofficially holding out from the Broncos’ offseason program in hopes of securing a contract extension. He has Wolfe’s blessing.
“Chris is one of the best cornerbacks in the league. I think he deserves to get paid, and he deserves to do whatever he feels is right for himself. He already did his discount deal, so it’s time for him to get his money. That’s how he feels.
“I think everybody can relate to that. You’ve got that short time span in this league, so you have to earn as much as you can. Especially if you take a discount on that first deal. It’s not like we didn’t make enough money to take care of ourselves for the rest of our lives. To me, he’s just trying to make that so he can live an even better lifestyle than he already plans on. He’s got a lot of kids.”
*On what Wolfe expects from training camp this year under Fangio:
“Training camp (stinks) anyways. It’s not like, ‘Oh, I can’t wait to go to training camp.’ It’s just a necessary evil you have to go through to get into that football shape. It’s just part of the game.
“Nobody loves camp. I don’t know anybody that loves it, it’s just something you endure to get in shape.”
*The Broncos let go of three defensive starters this offseason -- linebacker Brandon Marshall, safety Darian Stewart and cornerback Bradley Roby – for financial reasons. Wolfe, though, was not a cap casualty even though he has one year and $8.55 million left on his contract after the team exercised a $1 million option bonus last month.
Wolfe said he hopes he can earn another contract here so he can retire a Bronco.
“That’s what I want. I want to be a Bronco for life. That’s why I signed that deal that I did last time. The Broncos have been good to me, so if I play well they’ll be good to me again and I can finish my career here. I don’t really want to live anywhere else.”
*Wolfe was the Broncos’ first selection, although in the second round, of the 2012 NFL Draft. The 2019 draft is two weeks away.
“It’s just a big game that they play. It’s just like, ‘I’m going to show interest in this guy just to get this team to think…’ You’re just playing a game.
“Listen, we’re just commodities in a business. Going through the draft process, every day everybody tries to make you feel special like you’re the next greatest thing. That’s just the start of it. Once you get drafted, that’s when the real work has to start. I never even talked to the Broncos. I didn’t even have a single meeting with the Broncos. Every team I thought I was going to go to, they just went the complete opposite direction. I was just like, ‘I don’t know what the hell is going on here? Then I get a call from John Elway and I’m like, ‘Alright, cool. I guess I’m going to Denver.’ I had no clue I was going to come here. I’m glad I did. I have a lot of great memories here. I hope I can create some more.”
*Given his candid responses, it means carries a little more weight for Fangio when Wolfe says he likes his new head coach.
“I think Vic is the perfect … that’s the kind of guy that this team needs. Any time you come off a championship run like we made … we had four great years of Peyton Manning. When Peyton’s around, he’s the leader. He runs the show in the entire building it seems like. Once you lose a guy like that, there’s a space that needs to be filled.
“A head coach usually fills that job and that’s not an easy thing to ask of anybody. A guy like Vic, he comes in and he’s a no-nonsense, old-school type of guy. He still likes to have fun, but he’s the kind of guy—you just respect him. He’s got the resume to respect. He just demands that respect right away when he walks in a room.”
