Josey Jewell on Broncos' New-Look Defense Under Ejiro Evero: 'Sky's the Limit'

The 2022 offseason marked the first time in Josey Jewell’s NFL career that he was a free agent, although his availability didn’t last long on the open market. Denver Broncos' GM George Paton announced the re-signing of Jewell in March on a two-year deal worth $11 million, with $6 million guaranteed this season.

“I’m very happy that they want me back, and that meant a lot to sign back here,” Jewell said during Wednesday’s media availability at UCHealth Training Center. “We kind of had a flush of the old coaches, a bunch of new guys. I was just hoping to build a small relationship at least while I was still here rehabbing early on in the offseason. I got to know a couple of them. Linebackers Coach Peter Hansen, I got to talk to him a couple times, ‘Coach E’ (Defensive Coordinator Ejiro Evero] a couple times, and really enjoyed my conversations with them.”

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Headed into his fifth season, Jewell will play under his third head coach since entering the league with the likes of Vance Joseph and Vic Fangio in the rear-view. Back in 2018, the former Iowa Hawkeye linebacker was drafted in the fourth round (No. 106) and competed for playing time as a backup. Jewell eventually earned starting snaps on a limited basis in his first two seasons before bursting onto the scene in his third year.

The 6-foot-2, 236-pound linebacker played in all 16 games of the 2020 season, recording 113 tackles (67 solo), five tackles for a loss, five QB hits, four passes defensed, and two sacks. Jewell hoped to continue his red-hot success in 2021, only to suffer a torn pectoral muscle while tackling a returner in Jacksonville’s Week 2 matchup.

Jewell was asked about sustaining a season-ending injury that completely arrested his fourth-year momentum.

"Yes, I definitely feel like I was playing some of the best ball I’ve played professionally so far," he said. “But definitely looking up towards that and trying to better that from what I did last year, and just keep trying to stack those days and stacking the good games and the good practices on top of each other.”

Jewell didn't fade into the background after his pectoral injury last fall. He stayed plugged in at Dove Valley and became almost an additional coach for his suddenly beleaguered position-mates who'd not only lost him to the injury bug, but also fellow starter Alexander Johnson. Jewell explained why he stuck around the building.

“I just want to stay around them, depending on what happened the next year and also, just keeping that relationship with everybody," Jewell said. "I know if you get detached from the game for too long you lose some of the I.Q. stuff or maybe you slack in some way, you lack somewhere and lose knowledge. So I just wanted to stay around the game, stay up to date, and get to know these guys even more, and keep that relationship and communication going.”

The 27-year-old is in line to start at inside linebacker in the Broncos' base 3-4 defense and will play alongside newly-signed linebacker Alex Singleton, in addition to Baron Browning and Jonas Griffith. Jewell’s been the model of consistency in the Broncos locker room and is known for his willingness to mentor guys, his blue-collar work ethic, and an extremely high motor that has translated to the rehabilitation room.

“I haven’t really had an injury like that before, or injury at all that’s been a season-ending injury. So better than what I expected,” Jewell said when asked about his recovery.

‘The Outlaw’ confirmed that he's been "100%" since February, so his rehab is complete. The Broncos will continue to rely on Jewell as a veteran presence in a rapidly changing culture at Dove Valley this season.

When asked about expectations for the Broncos' new-look defense, Jewell swung for the fences.

“I think we have a lot of great players, a lot of great talent in the room, whether that be linebacker, safety, upfront, it doesn’t matter," he said. "There’s a lot of talent, I just think we need to state our job, communicate, and I think the sky’s the limit on us.”

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