After veteran safety Kareem Jackson was ejected from Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers, the Denver Broncos turned to P.J. Locke.
The 26-year-old safety stepped up in a big way, grabbing what proved to be a game-clinching interception in an eventual 19-17 win.
“I was in a half [coverage],” Locke said of the interception after the game. “Normally when I’m in a half, I stay as the deepest man. I read the quarterback and I see the quarterback on the opposite side of the field. He threw it and I didn’t hesitate. I saw the ball in the air and I was like, ‘It’s mine.’”
After spending his rookie season on Denver’s practice squad in 2019, Locke served as special teams player and rotational defensive back from 2020-2022. This year, he started the season on injured reserve with a leg injury. Locke returned from IR on Oct. 7 after weeks of recovery and preparation.
“When I got on IR, I was discouraged. ‘J-Sims’ [Justin Simmons] and ‘KJ,’ they pulled me over and was like, “You have to stay engaged.’ Stay engaged with everybody. With the game plan, going to DB dinners and stuff like that. Anytime I was on the sideline, I was walking around with my iPad, following my DB coach, listening to every call on the field, seeing our team’s mentality. I think that paid dividends for me.”
Locke is now in line for more snaps going forward, and he’s ready for the opportunity.
“It’s a next-man mentality and I look at it as no drop off,” Locke said. “Somebody goes down, you can have the mindset that I don’t have much reps or anything like that. You just have to go in there and stay engaged and make plays.”
