Why Sean Payton is coaching Pat Surtain II up as a potential punt returner

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Last year, the idea of Pat Surtain II returning punts for the Broncos was a nonstarter.

“To put him in harm’s way, that would be idiotic by me,” Denver’s 2022 special teams coordinator Dwayne Stukes said in November, when the idea of Surtain returning punts was suggested to him.

Denver’s new sheriff in town doesn’t think it’s idiotic at all.

In fact, on Tuesday, during the Broncos’ first mandatory minicamp practice there was a sign of it.

Wearing salmon-colored Broncos shorts, Sean Payton was coaching up Denver’s All-Pro cornerback as a punt returner during a special teams period.

“All of these guys are going to have roles,” Payton said after practice, when asked about Surtain potentially returning punts. “You start asking questions, and you start getting answers. He did it in high school. I want to know who we are going to if [Option 1] isn’t ready. There are 53 on your roster and 47 on gameday. If I need a gunner taken out of the game, then who better to do that than Patrick [Surtain II]. That’s what he does for a living. It’s not just offense go over here; defense go over here, and the kicking game go over here.”

Payton made it clear that, for now, Surtain isn’t being looked at to be the team’s starting punt returner, but more so to see what skills he brings to that position.

“If Surtain can help us as a returner when needed, then we’ll have him ready,” Paton stated.

It’s not unheard of for elite cornerbacks to occasionally return punts. During their careers, Hall-of-Famer Champ Bailey and All-Pro cornerback Aqib Talib each returned a handful of punts. And, of course, there’s Hall-of-Fame cornerback Deion Sanders who was a punt returner his entire career.

“I watched Lawrence Taylor in a game with the Giants where they were winning and the team they were playing, came back with a couple of kick returns. I watched Lawrence Taylor remove about five guys on the kick coverage unit and brought defensive players out, lined them up and covered a kick,” Payton continued, pointed to arguably the best defensive player to ever play a game. “That’s when you have something. These are snaps. There are snaps in a game that are valuable.”

Just because Pat Surtain II is one of the best cornerback in the NFL, if not the best, doesn’t mean he’s immune from playing special teams. In fact, if Surtain can help the team as a returner, Payton will have him ready for when the time is right.