Von Miller Hints at a 'Monster' Comeback Season for Bradley Chubb
The nature of physicality in professional football is unforgiving and unbiased. It’s not a matter of if a player will get injured in the NFL, but a matter of when.
While most players are well-acquainted with this NFL reality and are willing to play hurt, injuries can haunt and chip away at their confidence. Such was the case last season when Denver Broncos pass rusher Bradley Chubb tore the ACL in his left knee for the second time in his young football career. Oddly enough, the injury occurred exactly seven years to the day of his first ACL tear as a junior in high school.
But despite tearing his ACL against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Chubb refused to be sidelined and produced seven tackles (four solo), one tackle for loss, one forced fumble, and three quarterback hits in what turned out to be the Broncos' fourth straight loss. A week later, Denver placed him on injured reserve which allowed him to undergo surgery and start rehabilitation immediately.
It's a blow for any player to miss three-quarters of the season, especially one just in his second year.
“I can definitely understand how he feels,” said teammate Von Miller on Tuesday as he met with media in a virtual presser. “I tore my ACL as well, and I know how the offseason is to grind and rehab. All you can think about is football and all you can think about is getting back on the field.”
In 2013, Miller tore the ACL in his right knee which consequently kept him from playing in the Broncos' Super Bowl XLVIII run. The following season, Miller bounced back tremendously, accumulating 14 sacks, 60 tackles, and 27 QB hits.
So, the blueprint for Chubb to return to excellence is there. In fact, many of the NFL’s elite players combat injury and wage mental and physical war in their facilities rehab rooms.
“Whenever you have a season-ending injury, it really refocuses you,” Miller said. “It makes you refocus, and all the greats have had some type of season-ending injury—from Peyton Manning to Tom Brady. From Tom Brady to DeMarcus Ware to all the greats, they always come back stronger.”
Ware was instrumental in the Broncos' Super Bowl 50 title for his elite play, leadership, and mentorship to Miller — the MVP of the championship game. During his NFL career, Ware fought shoulder, back, elbow, and hamstring injuries.
Overcoming and enduring all injuries, Ware's 138.5 sacks rank ninth all-time in the NFL and he was the second-fastest player to eclipse the 100-sack milestone behind only Hall-of-Famer Reggie White. Ware also coached Chubb as a pass-rush consultant for Denver in 2018.
“I am really eager to see him on the field because he reminds me of myself when I played, but just actually a little bit bigger and stronger,” Ware said last spring. “Just to see him from coaching him and talking to him and mentoring him, to have a guy come back from a season-ending injury, come back stronger and play even better, would be one of those things like a proud dad would want to see, and see him really excel and do well."
Chubb has been more than a regular at UC Health Training Center. He’s been a gym rat. Amid the pandemic, the NFL complied with nationwide stay-at-home orders by closing team facilities with the exception of players previously engaged in medical rehab with a small staff of trainers.
Day and night, Chubb endured painstaking rehabilitation so that he can make a triumphant and ferocious 2020 return. With nothing but time on his hands and motivation on his mind, it’s easy to tell the Broncos' 2018 first-rounder is itching to play football.
“He’s been here this whole offseason just trying to get ready to go,” Miller said. “Bradley Chubb is already a monster. I feel like he’s stronger and he’s refocused. Not that he needed to refocus, but he’s definitely refocused, and he’s ready to go.”
The Broncos modern history of fielding pass-rushing duos like Elvis Dumervil and Miller, Ware and Miller, and now Miller and Chubb, has set high expectations for the current tandem in 2020. There’s already an elite fraternity of pass rushers in the NFL, but Denver's sack artists embrace learning, encouragement, and family traditions more than the rest.
Follow Luke on Twitter @LukePattersonLP and @MileHighHuddle.
