The Broncos got it right with the way they handled Garett Bolles

For Broncos Country, last week was embarrassing. The Broncos played a game without a quarterback and it was their fault.

Kendall Hinton was placed in an extremely unfair situation. You can blame whomever you want but given how things have gone in Broncos Country the last five years, the Broncos set themselves up for that disaster.

As the news broke that the Broncos had managed to have all of their quarterbacks disqualified from a football game, some good news dropped. The Broncos reached an agreement on a contract extension with starting left tackle Garett Bolles.

These days, the Broncos hardly ever do anything right. So this was a pleasant surprise.

In his first three seasons in the NFL, Bolles became the target of Broncos Country’s angst. Bolles was booed out of the stadium at home. Local media (including myself) had given up on him. As a player on the field, Bolles had a reputation as someone who could be easily frustrated and rattled into making mistakes.

The criticism of his Bolles’ play was not misplaced. He often played well below average and hurt the team in key moments. He was hardly the Broncos biggest problem, however.

This season, Bolles has proven that is one best players on the roster, and a mentally tough leader. One year ago, nobody (besides James Merilatt) could have predicted this.

When Garett Bolles was drafted in 2017, he famously cut a pro wrestling style promo comparing his loyalty to his quarterback to that of his wife. During the years that followed, many have wondered if we would ever see Bolles back up his tough talk.

In 2017, Bolles talked the talk. In 2020, he walked the walk.

Following the Broncos first win of the 2020 season in Week 4 against the Jets, Bolles was rather displeased with the Jets antics at the end of the game. As the game concluded, head coach Vic Fangio sensed the situation on the field and quickly moved his team to the locker room.

While leaving the field, Fangio directs Bolles to follow him. Bolles was ready to take on anybody from the Jets that had a problem. It wasn’t that Bolles was angry with what the Jets were doing to him directly; he was angered with the unnecessary hits on quarterback Brett Rypien.

This past Sunday, when the Broncos played that ridiculous game against the Saints, Bolles commitment to his teammates was on full display.

After a bad snap from Lloyd Cushenberry resulted in a fumble, Saints linebacker Kwon Alexander recovered the fumble and looked destined for a defensive touchdown. Bolles chased down Alexander and prevented him scoring. While I don’t think anybody will be confusing Bolles for D.K. Metcalf anytime soon, it was a hustle play in a game that the Broncos had no chance of winning. Bolles was one day removed from signing a big contract extension and was out making plays like he was still trying to earn one.

If anybody thinks making this tackle wasn’t risky, Terrell Davis’ career essentially ended by making a tackle on a turnover. And more recently, Courtland Sutton lost his 2020 season to the same scenario. Bolles risked it because it matters that much to him.

Maybe the most lasting image of last week’s debacle against the Saints is a picture captured of Bolles walking with his arm around Kendall Hinton. Hinton was taking a beating from the Saints and was having little success. Bolles and Hinton likely had little to no interaction prior to last Sunday, but Bolles followed through on his promise from 2017 to support his quarterback.

I don’t know this for a fact, but Bolles appears to have gotten better so he could prove to himself and his teammates that he is a valuable member of this team. The booing fans and non-believers (myself included) in the media didn’t seem to motivate him as much as the approval of his team. As it should be.

I’m almost 37 years old and have spent the majority of my time watching the Broncos. Normally when I write for 1043TheFan.com, I try to find parallels between the current Broncos and Broncos of the past. But in this instance, I have nothing.

We’ve never seen a player like Bolles. We’ve seen high draft picks bust and we’ve seen players that were not fan favorites. We’ve never seen a player with this type of turnaround.

The unfortunate part of this past week is that the headlines about the Broncos have centered around dysfunction. The ownership situation has reached new levels of embarrassment, while John Elway, Joe Ellis and Vic Fangio have displayed zero comprehension when it comes to accountability and leadership. The complete lack of awareness at the top caused everyone to lose sight of the only thing fans really care about – the players.

Despite all of that, the Broncos and John Elway got it right with Bolles. It’s a great story for both Bolles and the Broncos and one that should be celebrated.