Broncos LB Justin Strnad: Time to Prove It as No. 24 Player

The Denver Broncos are finally back on the practice field. OTAs have begun this week, and it's Broncos Country's first glimpse of the 2026 squad to see how its shaping up.

When it came to the roster-building portion of the offseason, the Broncos prioritized the re-signing and tendering of 17 of their own free agents. One of those free agents was veteran linebacker Justin Strnad.

As we continue counting down the top 25 Broncos of 2026, we're turning our attention to Strnad, who checks in as the No. 24 player.

Background

The Broncos drafted Strnad in the fifth round out of Wake Forest in 2020. He looked pretty good in training camp and preseason as a rookie, but suffered a wrist injury that required surgery. He was placed on injured reserve before the season started.

In his second and third NFL seasons, Strnad made the Broncos' 53-man roster out of camp, but made zero starts. He made himself valuable by contributing on special teams and served as depth at inside linebacker.

The worm began to turn in 2024. Although he was set to sign with the Carolina Panthers, Strnad ended up backing out and re-upped with the Broncos on a one-year deal.

The Broncos also signed Cody Barton to start next to Alex Singleton. Alas, in Week 3, Singleton suffered a torn ACL, ending his season.

Strnad took over Singleton's spot, and would go on to start eight games. Strnad totaled 73 tackles (48) solo and eight tackles for a loss. Where he really distinguished himself was as a blitzer, totaling three sacks, and he also showed some coverage chops, which would come in handy later.

It wasn't enough for the Broncos to pencil Strnad in as a starter, though they did re-sign him to another one-year deal. The Broncos went out and signed Dre Greenlaw to a multi-year deal in the spring of 2025, seeing some big-time upside in his run defense and coverage ability, as well as the physical, no-nonsense swagger he played with.

The Greenlaw signing came with some big injury concerns, though, and soon after joining the Broncos, his suffered a quad injury. That trend would continue throughout the 2025 campaign, which gave further rise to Strnad.

Once again, Strnad played starter snaps, filling in for Greenlaw next to Singleton for eight games. When Greenlaw was healthy, the Broncos began to rotate him with Strnad.

Strnad had made himself indispensable to the Broncos. The first illustration of that was his late-game interception against the New York Giants in Week 7, which helped spark the furious comeback Bo Nix led, putting 33 fourth-quarter points on the board to win, 33-32.

¡Justin Strnad con la intercepción en territorio enemigo! 🏈👏🏼

📺: @paramountplus | #NYGvsDEN pic.twitter.com/jP2RrvOcz6
— Broncos En Español (@BroncosEspanol) October 19, 2025

That was the official turning point for Strnad. Even when Greenlaw was healthy, the Broncos wanted Strnad on the field as much as possible. This, and other factors, made Greenlaw unhappy in Denver.

Strnad finished with 58 tackles (23 solo), five tackles for a loss, a career-high 4.5 sacks, an interception, and three pass break-ups. Not bad for a linebacker who spent much of the season rotating in with Greenlaw.

Multi-Year Contract

Denver Broncos linebacker Justin Strnad (40) before a Christmas Day game against the Kansas City Chiefs. | Scott Winters / IMAGO / Icon Sportswire

Finally, Strnad got the bag. His patience and long-suffering — not to mention his loyalty — had paid off. This past March, the Broncos gave him a three-year, $18 million contract with $10 million guaranteed.

Part of the deal was the assurance that Strnad would be a starter. The Broncos also re-signed Singleton, which then led to the shocking decision to release Greenlaw after just one season.

Outlook

For the first time in his NFL career, Strnad enters the season as an understood starter. He and Singleton will serve as the Broncos' inside linebacker duo, with an interesting collection of younger players vying for the third and fourth spots on the roster.

Jonah Elliss is being moved to inside linebacker, and as a recent third-round pick, he has a leg up on the competition. The Broncos also drafted Red Murdock with the final selection in the draft, a player who exited the college ranks as the FBS' all-time leader in forced fumbles (17).

The Broncos also have three incumbents, all of whom were recent undrafted rookies, pushing for a roster spot: Levelle Bailey, Karene Reid, and Jordan Turner. Not to be forgotten, undrafted rookie Taurean York is also intent on beating someone out for a roster spot, though he is undersized.

The Takeaway

When it comes to Strnad, his place with the team is secure. So long as he can stay healthy, he's got everything in front of him, playing on one of the NFL's top defenses.

Strnad will turn 30 in August, but he's a young 30. Not only did he miss his entire rookie year, but he's only been playing starter's snaps for two seasons. The NFL wear-and-tear on his body is very little.

This will be the first season of Strnad's career where he begins the campaign as a starter. It's going to be fun to see him continue to grow in Vance Joseph's defense.

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