After some great years in the glory days of Peyton Manning’s career with the Indianapolis Colts, the Broncos took a free agent flier on Brandon Stokley in 2007 — Jay Cutler’s first full year as a starter with the team — after he was limited to just four games the year prior due to injury.
At the age of 31, Stokley certainly had a great reputation for what he’d done in the past, but injuries had done enough that it seemed his best days were in the past.
As it turned out, Stokley’s first stint with the Broncos jump started something in him and he proved he had a lot of great football left in him.
Catching passes from Jay Cutler and Kyle Orton throughout his first stint in Denver, Stokley proved he was a master of the slot. He caught 108 passes for 1,490 yards and 12 touchdowns in those three seasons.
Over the next two seasons, Stokley played for the Seattle Seahawks and the New York Giants. It appeared his career was once again at an end.
Again, not so fast.
Stokley was a major factor in the Broncos’ signing of Manning. When he signed, Manning convinced Stokley to sign along with him. The two picked up right where they had left off with the Colts. Stokley caught 45 passes for 544 yards and five touchdowns for the Broncos at the age of 36.
He has made some of the greatest plays in Broncos history and was part of one of the best Denver teams to never win a Super Bowl in 2012.