By Jordan Long
Defensive end Derek Wolfe decided to retire. He didn’t play a single down last year due to hip surgery. He wanted to retire as a member of the Denver Broncos where his NFL journey started, signing a 1-day contract this weekend to do so.
Wolfe was originally selected by the Denver Broncos in the 2nd round, 36th overall in the 2012 NFL Draft. Denver knew they needed to improve the defensive line. Wolfe was the pick. He played his college football at the University of Cincinnati where he appeared in 44 games from 2008 to 2011. He totaled 162 tackles and 19.5 sacks during his college career. Denver anticipated he would help stop the run and sack the quarterback.
In his first year in the NFL, Wolfe had 40 tackles and 6 sacks, a taste of what was to come. His top sack season for Denver was in 2019 when Wolfe took down the quarterbacks 7 times. In 108 regular season games in the Mile High City, Wolfe had 299 tackles and 33 sacks. With his help, the Broncos earned a playoff spot 3 times.
A player wants to play well in the playoffs. In 2015 the Broncos won Super Bowl 50. He was part of their “No Fly Zone” defense. Wolfe was one of their better defensive linemen in that postseason, totaling 2.5 sacks and 15 tackles in their magical run. Wolfe stayed in Denver until the end of 2019.
In the offseason of 2020, the Broncos let him go. Wolfe was a free agent and agreed to a contract with the Baltimore Ravens for a base salary of $3 million but it could go as high as $6 million with incentives. In the 2020 season, Wolfe played well for the Ravens, totaling 51 tackles with 1 sack. The Ravens extended his contract for 3 more years.
Last year, Wolfe didn’t play a single down for the Ravens. In training camp, the Ravens had joint practices with Carolina where Wolfe suffered an injury. It kept him out of the regular season after he had hip surgery. Wolfe underwent another hip operation recently which looked like the end of his career. The Ravens cut him but reached an injury settlement with Wolfe.
Wolfe knew he wanted to retire as a member of the Denver Broncos. He agreed to a 1-day contract on Friday to do so. According to pro32.ap.org, Wolfe said, “I had a lot of great times here. Played a lot of good football, won a lot of games, and won a Super Bowl.”
This was a smart decision by Wolfe. He knows he can’t play the game at a high level anymore. His best days were with the Broncos’ organization. Wolfe leaves the game appearing in 122 games for both the Broncos and the Ravens. He was one of the better defensive linemen in the game who could tackle a runner for short yards and sack the quarterback. Wolfe had 350 tackles and 34 sacks in his career. With his play, Denver went to the Super Bowl twice while winning one. There wasn’t much more for him to play for. He will be remembered as part of the Broncos defense that went on to defeat the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50. Wolfe will always have a special place in Broncos Country for that.
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