Will Bradley Chubb have a full workload in Kansas City? 'That's the plan'

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The thirty snaps Bradley Chubb received Sunday were momentous only in what they meant: a step back towards full-tilt work, just when the Broncos need it most with the days growing shorter and a potential push for the playoffs looming.

He didn’t record a sack or a quarterback hit; in fact, he didn’t make it onto the stat sheet at all. But he did build up his stamina for more work — and perhaps most importantly, didn’t feel any discomfort in his first game back after missing eight contests due to a second experience with bone spurs in his ankle.

“Just like any normal after a game,” Chubb said Monday. “A little sore. Upper body’s sore from punching guys, and lower body’s sore from running around, but the ankle and all that, it feels great.”

More snaps are coming — perhaps a full-tilt workload by Sunday night against Kansas City.

“Hopefully. That’s the plan,” he said. “Whatever the trainers feel like is best and whatever I feel like is best; it’s my body. I’m going to go out there with practice, manage it and see how it feels, and hopefully Sunday it’ll be at a full load, and if not, we’ll just have to work around it.”

The new reality for Chubb isn’t just coming back from the injury, it’s playing with the specter of a fifth-year option and the question of whether he will get a long-term deal after that — especially with 21 games missed in the last three seasons. In fact, since the start of the 2019 campaign, he has missed more games than he’s played (20), although he is expected to square that statistic at Arrowhead Stadium.

So, there’s the matter of staying healthy and avoiding the injuries that have dogged him to this point.

There is also the matter of filling the leadership void left by Von Miller’s trade. Chubb, a vocal, forceful personality in the locker room, should have no problem doing this, if eh remains healthy.

“I embrace it a lot, because I feel like the team moves as the outside linebackers move,” Chubb said. “Me, as (one of the) the leaders, I’ve got to keep those guys going.”

He noted that other players among the Broncos’ edge rushers, including Malik Reed and Stephen Weatherly, have also shown leadership qualities.

“It hasn’t been one-sided in that room,” he said. “It’s been fun to see everybody engage and attacking it, playing the run and rushing as one. As long as we keep that going, I feel like we’ll be good.”

Still, Chubb’s status — a Pro Bowl on his ledger, a former first-round pick, four years with the team and more sacks since 2018 than anyone on the roster in that span — 20.5 in total — confer a certain status.

His words — and observations – are taken seriously. And one thing he’s already noticed is that in the wake of trading Miller, a different, more urgent dynamic emerged.

“I honestly think it was like a kick in the butt, man, because, Von, he was here, he did so many great things, Super Bowl MVP … just doing that consistently, and we might have had some guys around here that got a little comfortable,” Chubb said.

“When you see a guy like Von Miller get traded, you’re like, ‘Oh, so we could really trade anybody around here.’

“It gave everybody that sense of urgency that nobody’s job is safe, nobody out here can just stay here and do whatever they want. We’ve all got to kick it up a notch, and I feel like the team took that message, and everybody’s been playing well.”

But for the Broncos to turn their playoff dreams into reality, Chubb must also play well, and turn the potential that has flashed into dominance as the team’s primary edge rusher — and the focus of opponents’ attention.