ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Denver Broncos linebacker Alex Singleton called his return to the practice field Wednesday less than three weeks after cancer surgery "a blessing'' and said he is "tracking'' to play Sunday night against the Washington Commanders.
Singleton, who still leads the Broncos with 89 tackles even though he missed a game, had a cancerous tumor removed from one of his testicles Nov. 7, a day after he had nine tackles in a 10-7 win over the Las Vegas Raiders.
Singleton, 31, did not play in the Broncos' Week 11 win over the Kansas City Chiefs. Denver was on a bye last week.
"If [the Raiders game] was going to be my last game ever, just focus on football,'' Singleton said of his mindset going into that game. "It's a blessing, at 31 just playing football in general is still a blessing -- I talk to all my friends, and they get hurt playing rec league basketball.''
Also returning to practice Wednesday was cornerback Pat Surtain II, who suffered a pectoral injury in Week 8. Broncos coach Sean Payton said the reigning Defensive Player of the Year is also on track -- "it's kind of the target game'' -- to play against the Commanders.
The Broncos (9-2) are on an eight-game win streak, their longest since winning 11 straight in 2012. Though Surtain has missed three and a half games and Singleton has missed one, the Broncos are still No. 3 in the league in scoring defense, No. 4 in Defensive EPA, first in sacks and have held opposing quarterbacks to a league-low 46.3 QBR.
The quick turnaround from Singleton undergoing surgery to his return to practice Wednesday had Broncos defensive tackle Malcolm Roach referring to him as "Jon Snow," the "Game of Thrones" character.
"It's a phenomenal story," Roach added.
Singleton has said that only a few of his teammates, coaches and Broncos officials knew of his diagnosis and impending surgery when he played against the Raiders. The rest were informed in a Nov. 10 team meeting.
Singleton said that, at the time, he didn't know if it would be the last game of his career.
"If it was my last [game], what I want to do is coach anyway -- so it's cool, let's just start now,'' Singleton said Wednesday. "[But] the one thing I wanted to do was play that game, because if it was [my last], I wanted to go out on my own terms."
Singleton is still undergoing tests to make sure the cancer has not spread after initial CT scans showed it had not. He said Wednesday he has had "many, many" people reach out to him and hopes that by continuing to tell his story it will encourage others to get check-ups.
"It's been a whirlwind, [but] do I wake up in the morning and think, am I doing something different [than other people]? No,'' Singleton said. "Do I think it's inspirational? I don't know. But do I think I have a platform that I can share what I'm going through and that it's OK to go to the doctor and that early detection is good for you ... that's as important as it can be.''
