Broncos defensive end Derek Wolfe played all 16 games for the team last season, but he never quite felt like himself.
In 2013, Wolfe’s season started with a spinal cord injury and it ended after he suffered a seizure on the way to a game. Wolfe wound up in a medically induced coma and lost a good portion of his bulk while in the hospital. He gained it back before the next season, but Wolfe says he never felt fully comfortable on the field.
That’s not the case this year. Wolfe says his quickness has returned and that’s boosted his confidence to a point where he feels back to full speed.
“When it comes to my body and recovery and stuff like that, I’m very impatient,” Wolfe said, via the team’s website. “I thought I was going to bounce back a lot quicker than I did. I bounced back health-wise, but just the way I move, my movements and stuff -- you still subconsciously hesitate a little bit just because you’re protective of certain areas. Really, that’s completely out of my mind now. I’m not even thinking about it. I can get back to playing the way I like to play.”
Wolfe will have a different role as a 5-technique defensive end in Denver’s 3-4 front, which is the system he played in college and the one he thought he’d play in the NFL until the Broncos drafted him in 2012. He called it his “natural position,” which means he’ll be getting back to his old self in more ways than one.