ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Had Case Keenum and Justin Strnad met near the goal line three years later, the outcome most certainly would have been different.
It was 2021, a Thursday night game in Cleveland in late October. Strnad, a fifth-round inside linebacker for the Broncos, was coming off a wrist surgery that caused him to miss his entire rookie season of 2020. When you can’t use your wrist, you can’t get stronger in the weight room, as almost every NFL rookie can.
A run of injuries at the Broncos’ inside linebacker position had the 6-foot-3, 235-pound Strnad playing for the first time in 2021. The game against the Browns was his fifth career start. It would also be his last start for nearly three years.
On fourth and 3 at the 6 and less than a minute remaining in the half, Keenum, the Browns’ quarterback, scrambled up the middle and met Strnad man to man. Keenum won, picking up five yards to set up first and goal at the 1. The Browns scored on the next play.
The Browns rushed for 182 yards that night, 146 coming from an unknown back named D’Ernest Johnson. More incriminating to the Denver run defense was after the Broncos closed to within 17-14, the Browns were able to run out the final five minutes, 17 seconds of game clock to preserve the win.
But have you seen Strnad play the past two weeks for the Broncos in place of the injured Alex Singleton? He’s been a force with 13 tackles, a sack and three tackles for loss. Again, this is his first action at inside linebacker in nearly three years.
“Two good weeks,’’ head coach Sean Payton said of Strnad this week. “It's interesting, you never know. We as coaches, we all can be guilty of typecasting and then all of a sudden, a guy gets in and you're like, ‘woah.’ That can happen.”
Strnad, 28, had been an invaluable special teamer for the Broncos in those three years, using his combination of big back speed and linebacker size. But there is no doubt he has gained considerable strength since he last played linebacker.
“Yes, but I would also say it’s knowing what I’m doing and knowing what’s going on around me,’’ Strnad said in an interview just outside the locker room this week with 9NEWS. “Back then I wouldn’t say, one, I knew what was going on around me, or what I was doing at the level I am now. I was just a young player. And there were different situations. I don’t want to make excuses but different circumstances back then, that’s for sure.”
A free agent after last season, Strnad had a one-year deal verbally in place with the Carolina Panthers, where he would be reunited with former Broncos inside linebacker Josey Jewell and defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero. But at the last minute, the Broncos sweetened their offer so that $750,000 of his $1.305 million payout would be fully guaranteed.
Strnad decided to stay put, even though long-lost playing time at inside linebacker wasn’t promised.
“Going into this offseason, that was one of my points in free agency: I’m looking forward to an opportunity to get back on the field at linebacker,’’ Strnad said. “I didn’t know it would present itself here but obviously with the (season-ending ACL) injury to Alex — and you don’t wish injury upon anybody — but the opportunity presented itself and I just tried to make the most of it.”
It must be extremely gratifying to hang in through those lost three years as a linebacker, only to have patience and perseverance pay off with two impressive performances in two Broncos victories.
“I give credit to my family and friends,’’ he said, referring to those who encouraged and believed in him through the down times. “Obviously playing in the NFL on special teams is an honor. I don’t take it lightly. But everybody wants an opportunity to show they can do it on the defensive or offensive level. And I’m glad I’m getting that opportunity and take it a week at a time. I don’t want to get too high or get too low. It’s the NFL, you’re going to have up and down weeks. I just want to each and every week help this team win games and get this team back to the playoffs.”
