Former Denver Broncos quarterback Steve Tensi has died, the team announced Monday. He was 81 years old.
Following the Frank Tripucka era, the Broncos bounced between six quarterbacks before landing on Tensi in 1967.
Tensi was a signal-caller for the AFL’s San Diego Chargers before a trade brought him to Denver in 1967. From 1967-70, Tensi started 32 games over those four seasons for the Broncos. He finished his Denver career with a 10-21-0 record.
In 1967, Tensi set a career-high in touchdowns with 16, which is as many as former Bronco Russell Wilson had in 2022.
In 1969, Tensi ranked in the top five (of 10 AFL teams) in touchdowns (14) and passer rating. After the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, Tensi started two games to help the franchise transition to the new league. He threw the first touchdown pass for the Broncos in their NFL history. He retired at 28, due to several injuries.
After his professional football career, Tensi was a quarterbacks coach for Wichita State University and then coached wide receivers, an unusual move for former quarterbacks, with the World Football League’s Chicago Fire.
To read more about his football legacy, the Broncos put gave a wonderful memorial on their website.