The Denver Broncos have reportedly given Mike Purcell a contract extension.
“Be careful now, you might want to keep him.”
Those were the words that were famously spoken by Denver Broncos head coach Vic Fangio to general manager John Elway and director of player personnel Matt Russell when the team was looking into signing defensive lineman Mike Purcell, who had just completed a strong stint in the now-defunct Alliance of American Football.
Fangio had worked with Purcell when the two were in San Francisco, though Purcell’s football career trajectory wasn’t exactly a fast lane to super-stardom.
Purcell spent the 2013 season on the 49ers’ practice squad before cracking their active roster for a couple of games in 2014.
He played 25 total games between 2014-16 with the 49ers, but from that point on, he was bouncing all over the country and all over the league.
Brief or not, Purcell had stints on the Los Angeles Rams, Chicago Bears, Carolina Panthers, New England Patriots, and Kansas City Chiefs.
All of those stops happened before Purcell signed on with the Salt Lake Stallions of the AAF, where he got noticed by the Denver Broncos, his home-state team.
A native of Highlands Ranch, CO, Purcell signed on as basically a camp body with the Denver Broncos shortly after Fangio’s warning to the front office people.
As it turns out, Fangio was spot on.
The Broncos inserted Purcell into their lineup about this time a year ago, and he rewarded them by racking up 48 total tackles with eight tackles for loss. Already to open 2020, he has 13 tackles, two tackles for loss, and his first sack since the 2015 campaign.
The Broncos have rewarded him with some financial stability and job security.
This is remarkable story of perseverance. Broncos DT Mike Purcell, cut 10 times by 6 teams before he was found by Elway, has reached agreement on contract extension thru 2023, per source. Since he started in game 5 last year Broncos are 6th in league w/3.9 y/c allowed. #9sports
— Mike Klis (@mikeklis) October 6, 2020
This is tremendous news for Purcell, whose insertion into the defensive lineup has really solidified the Broncos’ run defense and helped that become a strength of the team after it was somewhat of a weakness through the first four games of 2019.
The Colorado native has found a home with the Denver Broncos and is a perfect fit in the middle of Vic Fangio’s defense.