Tag: family

Returning to Florida provides ‘family reunion’ opportunity for Pat Surtain

“I just love that my family travels in bunches,” Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain said.

Denver Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain was born and raised in Plantation, Florida, and he later played college football in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

This week, Surtain will return to Florida when the Broncos go on the road to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Tampa is nearly a four-hour drive north of where Surtain grew up, but that’s much closer than the 29-hour drive from Plantation to Denver. So he’ll have plenty of family and friends at Sunday’s game.

“A whole bunch,” Surtain said Wednesday. “[I’ll] probably have a little family reunion going on, but it’s going to be a lot of people. A lot of folks, a lot of family members, close friends that’s going to be there in attendance, so I’m looking forward to it for sure. I just love that my family travels in bunches. Being able to see that, experience that, honestly, I’m looking forward to it, I can’t wait.”

Surtain estimated he’ll need 10-20 tickets for the game. Going up against Mike Evans, PS2 will look to make his family proud in his home state.

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Why Sam Darnold’s success has Wade Phillips feeling like a proud dad

Wade Phillips dropped in to remind everyone that Sam Darnold’s resurgence has been guided by offensive coordinator Wes Phillips.

Sam Darnold appears to have revitalized his career, and nobody’s happier to see it happen than San Antonio Brahmas coach Wade Phillips.

Darnold, 27, has completed 72% of his passes for 476 yards with four touchdowns against two interceptions through two games in Minnesota, helping the Vikings begin the season with a 2-0 record.

Phillips took to Twitter/X on Tuesday to remind football fans who has been coaching Darnold up in Minnesota.

“For those who don’t know — Wes Phillips is Sam Darnold’s offensive coordinator,” Phillips tweeted on Tuesday.

Wes, of course, is Wade’s son. The younger Phillips has been the Vikings’ offensive coordinator since 2022.

Proud dad moment.

Wade coached in the NFL from 1976-2019, including two stints with the Denver Broncos. After serving as defensive coordinator from 1989-1992, Philips was Denver’s head coach from 1993-1994. He later returned to the Broncos as defensive coordinator in 2015 and helped the club win Super Bowl 50.

Phillips now coaches the Brahmas in the UFL and his son, Wes, is enjoying success in Minnesota, his fourth stop in the NFL.

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Champ Bailey’s son is now a cornerback in high school

Champ Bailey’s second-youngest son, Brayden, is now a cornerback in high school. He wears No. 24.

Time flies.

Champ Bailey‘s second-youngest son, Brayden, is now a freshman in high school. He plays cornerback at Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School in Atlanta, Georgia.

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The 14-year-old cornerback has been getting coached up by his Pro Football Hall of Fame father:

Brayden’s number, of course, is 24:

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Champ played in the NFL from 1999-2014, including a 10-year run with the Denver Broncos from 2004-2013.

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Bailey’s oldest son, Keevan, played cornerback at Colorado State and he now plays at Campbell University in North Carolina as a graduate student.

Bailey’s youngest son, Beckem, is only six, so he’s probably a few years away from making headlines on the football field.

Bailey was a 12-time Pro Bowler and eight-time All-Pro during his time in the NFL. A member of the NFL’s 2000s All-Decade Team, Bailey retired in 2014 with 52 career interceptions on his resume.

As for Brayden, he and the Holy Innocents Bears have started the 2024 season with a 1-1 record. Up next is a showdown with Allatoona High School later today.

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Sean Payton’s daughter posted perfect tweet ahead of NFL’s season opener

We agree, Meghan Payton!

The Kansas City Chiefs are set to host the Baltimore Ravens in the 2024 NFL season opener on Thursday night.

Ahead of tonight’s action, Sean Payton’s daughter, Meghan, took to Twitter/X with a perfect tweet: “go ravens.”

Go Ravens, indeed.

Meghan’s father, of course, is the head coach of the Denver Broncos, who play in the AFC West with the Chiefs. After taking over the Broncos in 2023, Payton helped Denver snap a 16-game losing streak to Kansas City that dated back to 2015.

That 24-9 upset last fall didn’t prevent the Chiefs from winning an eighth-straight division title in 2023, and KC is the favorite to win the AFC West again in 2024. If the Broncos are going to catch the Chiefs in the division, they could use help from other clubs.

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The Ravens also play in the same conference, but they’re obviously not a division threat. The lesser of two evils in this case is Baltimore.

Thursday night’s opener will be nationally televised on NBC and available to stream on fuboTV (try it free). Kickoff is set for 6:20 p.m. MT.

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Bo Nix’s uncle Rusty is definitely attending QB’s first NFL game

“I know my uncle has been to every first game of every level that I’ve been on, so he wasn’t going to miss this one,” Bo Nix said.

Denver Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix is set to make his first NFL start on the road against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday afternoon.

Nix played the final two years of his college career in Eugene, Oregon, so he’s familiar with the Pacific Northwest. Nix grew up in Alabama, though, where most of his family remains. They’ll make the trip to Seattle this week.

“I don’t have many family out West, but I do have a lot going to the game,” Nix said on Wednesday. “Being married and having a big family already, you have a lot of people that are going to want to come out to the game. So probably each game will have a different amount of people. That’s the exciting part. A lot of these close friends and family have been there since Day 1, and they want to see the journey.

“I know my uncle has been to every first game of every level that I’ve been on, so he wasn’t going to miss this one. It’s stuff like that which you respect and that’s the fun part of playing. It’s the memories and part of the journey that you get to go out there. You only get your first game one time, so you have to go out there and make the most of it.”

That uncle — Rusty — attended the QB’s first starts at Pinson Valley High School, Auburn and Oregon. He’ll be in the stands again when the Broncos face the Seahawks to kick off their 2024 season.

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Broncos adding players’ family room to stadium after poor NFLPA grade

The Broncos received a “D+” for family treatment on their NFLPA report card last season, in part because they did not have a family room.

In their NFLPA report card following the 2023 season, the Denver Broncos were given a “D+” grade for their treatment of families.

The biggest complaint players had was that there was no family room at the stadium, something that 20 other NFL teams provide for players on game days.

The Broncos took note of that low grade and they quickly addressed it. Before the team’s preseason game against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night, 104.3 The Fan‘s Andrew Mason shared an image of a family room that’s “coming soon” at Empower Field at Mile High:

The graphic says the family room will arrive for the 2024 regular season. The amenities are as follows:

  • Private hospitality space for player and coach families
  • Complimentary snacks and non-alcoholic beverages
  • Comfortable seating and furniture options and Game TVs
  • Dedicated heating and cooling
  • Men’s and women’s restrooms
  • Nursing mother’s suite

That’s quite an upgrade from previously having no family room at the stadium. Another smart move from Denver’s new ownership group.

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P.J. Locke and Courtland Sutton had the cutest moments of preseason

Courtland Sutton and P.J. Locke delivered two of the cutest moments of preseason before the Broncos’ game against the Packers on Sunday.

The Denver Broncos handled business on the field against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night with a 27-2 victory at home.

Broncos players also had a night to remember off the field.

During pregame warmups, Denver safety P.J. Locke was joined by his son on the field, and his helmet was a perfect fit:

Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton also had a cute moment, posing for a photo with a seven-month-old baby when he came out of the tunnel after halftime. Goldie’s going to love the resulting photo and video when she’s older:

Football is family, as the NFL likes to say. Those two videos were definitely two of the top highlights from Denver’s preseason opener on Sunday.

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Former Washington QB Kirk Cousins trying to be a good ambassador

The former Washington QB continues to make an impact off the field.

In some ways, it simply is not easy being an NFL quarterback.

Certainly, the pay is terrific and extremely overpriced. However, as much as NFL quarterbacks are overpaid and receive the most praise, they also receive too much blame for their team’s failures.

NFL quarterbacks are pretty much lionized. Fans and analysts alike praise these quarterbacks, with much less praise going to the offensive lines that protected them, permitting them to attempt a successful pass.

On the other hand, they are also hated, booed, targeted, and persecuted relentlessly by their fan bases when their team does not perform up to the standard of expectations placed upon them.

Here is an instance of an NFL quarterback who formerly played for Washington. Though he has not played for Washington since the 2017 season, Kirk Cousins is appreciated by many in the fan base, while also literally hated by many in the fan base.

Cousins has agreed to participate in a video series for the Focus on the Family organization. The following is a portion of their promotion of Cousins’ participation in the project.

“As an NFL quarterback, Kirk Cousins understands the pressures of performance and the spotlight. Yet, amidst the passes and touchdowns, he has discovered a greater calling—to reflect the light of Christ in every aspect of his life.”

“As an NFL quarterback, I know reflecting Christ in high-pressure situations can be hard. That’s why I want you to have my free new video series with my story and advice on becoming an ambassador for Jesus in your work and in your family.”  Kirk Cousins

Cousins was drafted 102nd overall in the 2012 NFL draft. In 2015, he led the NFL in completion percentage (69.8). In his three seasons (2015-17) as the exclusive starter, his touchdown/interception ratio was 29:11, 25:12, and 27:13.

He spent the last six seasons with the Vikings, passing for 171 touchdowns and 55 interceptions, leading Minnesota to a 50-37-1 regular-season record. In the 2024 offseason, he signed with the Atlanta Falcons as an unrestricted free agent.

Jonah Elliss eager to join Broncos, his dad’s former team

Luther Elliss played for the Broncos (2004) and later served as the team’s chaplain when they won Super Bowl 50. His son, Jonah, is up next.

Football runs in the Elliss family

The Denver Broncos used their third-round pick in the 2024 NFL draft on Friday night to select Utah pass rusher Jonah Elliss.

“Honestly my heart dropped,” Elliss said during a call with reporters when asked what it was like to get ‘the call’ from the Broncos on draft day. “Holy, it’s so exciting, I have a big smile on my face. I’m so excited.”

Elliss is already familiar with the organization. His dad, Luther, was a defensive tackle for the Detroit Lions from 1995-2003 before playing the final year of his career with the Broncos in 2004. The elder Elliss totaled two sacks as a rotational player in Denver and 29 sacks in his career.

“He’s in the other room right now,” Jonah said of his dad. “He just told me how great of a culture, how great of a fanbase and how it was really a family vibe out there. Honestly the culture is something that he mentioned a lot and how it’s a really good bond out there.”

Eleven years after hanging up his cleats, Luther returned to the Broncos under then-coach Gary Kubiak to serve as the team’s chaplain in 2015. Denver went on to win the Super Bowl that season.

“[I haven’t seen] too many of his highlights, but I do remember when we moved out to Colorado,” Jonah said. “I spent a year there. It was really awesome just to see my dad start to get back into football. Even though he was just the chaplain at the time, you could see that his love for the sport really just lights him up and gets him excited to go to work and stuff. So it was awesome seeing him do that, and I’m really excited to come down where he was.”

The family’s NFL connections don’t stop there. All three of Jonah’s older brothers — Kaden (Atlanta Falcons), Christian (New England Patriots) and Noah (Philadelphia Eagles) — play in the NFL.

Kaden was drafted by then-New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton in 2019.

“Look, obviously a little bit of a coincidence,” Payton said of the Elliss family’s connection to the Broncos and Payton. “I think the irony though a little bit though was you wait, like always, you’re waiting for the teams to get through. The team before us is Atlanta, and then I’m reminded that Kaden is with Atlanta now. I’m like, ‘Oh no.’ [Falcons GM] Terry [Fontenot] was with us [in New Orleans]. Kaden is there; they needed an edge.

“Then I’m like, ‘Maybe Kaden and Jonah didn’t get along?’ So we were sweating that pick out, and then they ended up taking a different outside linebacker. I got a text two seconds later from Kaden. They are two different types of players, obviously, Kaden is playing more inside, and we got more of a pressure player here with this player.”

He’s not a replica of his father or his brothers, but Jonah has an impressive family tradition to continue in the NFL.

“It’s awesome,” Jonah said of playing for the coach who also drafted his brother. “Kaden told me how much he loved Coach, so I’m just really excited to get out there and work for him because my brother had such good things to say about him.”

Jonah is set to report to the team’s rookie minicamp next week. He’ll make his Broncos debut during preseason this summer.

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Zach Wilson’s family was pumped up after his trade to Broncos

Zach Wilson’s mom said she’s excited for the QB to have a “fresh new start” with the Broncos.

After the Denver Broncos agreed to trade a sixth-round pick to the New York Jets in exchange for Zach Wilson and a seventh-round pick on Monday, the quarterback’s family quickly took to social media to celebrate.

Wilson’s mom, Lisa, shared videos on her Instagram story showing multiple Broncos flags in their front yard alongside orange and blue balloons. The family likely knew about the possibility of the trade and had time to prepare — they also live in Utah so they might already be fans, and it’s likely easy to find Broncos gear at their local stores.

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“Excited for a fresh new start,” Lisa captioned one of her Instagram stories. “Let’s go!”

In another post: “Surround yourself with People the love you, cheer for you and want you to succeed.”

Later in the day, Lisa posted a video showing friends and family celebrating the trade with Broncos gear and flags at what appears to be a frozen yogurt shop.

Welcome to Denver, Zach Wilson. Judging from the social media posts, the QB’s family seems to be fired up about his new opportunity with the Broncos.

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