Former Alabama star DB Patrick Surtain II suffers non-contact injury
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Former Alabama star defensive back Patrick Surtain II had to be helped off the field by 2 trainers as he went to the locker room with 30 seconds left in the first half of the Denver Broncos’ game against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday afternoon.
Surtain appeared to have suffered a non-contact injury on the play, with those types of injuries always considered very serious in nature. While it is not known right now the severity of Surtain’s injury, the hope is that it could be a calf injury and not something like an Achilles.
The son of former Pro Bowl cornerback Patrick Surtain was the 9th overall pick by the Broncos in the 2021 NFL Draft after he spent 3 seasons at Alabama from 2018-20, helping Bama win the national title in his final season there. The former All-SEC player and All-American at Alabama is already a 4-time Pro Bowl cornerback with Denver, but now his 2026 season is in question as he laid on the field on Sunday in Santa Clara, Calif., in pain over the non-contact injury.
Here is the video of the play, which shows that Surtain was far away from where the action was taking place:
Broncos head coach Sean Payton provided an update on Surtain during an interview with CBS that was broadcast at halftime of Sunday’s game.
“Right now, he’s out (of the game) to start the second half. I don’t have a final update,” said Payton about Surtain, who was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2024. “We’ll be without him until we’re told otherwise.”
Surtain was deemed questionable to return to Sunday’s game against the 49ers with what was termed an ankle injury. With Surtain out, 2025 first-round pick Jahdae Barron replaced Surtain for the Broncos as they tried to press on without their star in the secondary.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
