Derek Wolfe won a Super Bowl in 2016, but that was not without risks.
The former Denver Bronco had one of the biggest fears a football player can have on the field.
During the 2013 pre-season, a fullback hit Wolfe on the top of the head following a cutblock, and he was stretched into an ambulance and driven to a hospital.
That hit left Wolfe’s body numb “from the nose down” – but Wolfe said he was back on the field in two weeks.
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Denver Broncos defense end Derek Wolfe (95) lies motionless on the field during a first quarter injury against the Seattle Seahawks on August 17, 2013 at CenturyLink Field. He was taken to a local hospital and is being examined for cervical spine injuries and movement in all his limbs. (John Leyba/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
“I was paralyzed for three hours, and then I played two weeks later,” Wolfe told Joe Rogan on his podcast. “It was miserable. Every time I was touched my arms went numb. And I’m a defensive lineman so my head gets hit on every play…”
Wolfe added that his team’s doctors downplayed the severity of the injury, saying “it was just a sting” and comparing it to how it takes a while for the lights to come on, but they went out immediately.
Doctors at the hospital wanted him to stay, but the team’s medical staff tried to convince them that just hours after the hit, Wolfe was ready to leave.
Then he realized that ‘they don’t care about us’.
Denver Broncos’ Derek Wolfe (95) is watched by the medical staff following a first quarter injury against the Seattle Seahawks on August 17, 2013 at CenturyLink Field. Wolfe was put on an ambulance and taken to hospital. (John Leyba/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
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The injury also had an aftereffect: Wolfe had a bruise on his brain stem, which prevented his brain from getting fresh blood. Twelve weeks after the initial injury, he had a seizure and was in a coma for 36 hours.
In January, Wolfe killed a mountain lion that had “wreaked havoc in a rural neighborhood” with a bow and arrow. He hiked over 9,600 feet and “almost died on that mountain.”
Denver Broncos defense end Derek Wolfe (95) is loaded onto the ambulance after a first quarter injury against the Seattle Seahawks on August 17, 2013 at CenturyLink Field. (John Leyba/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
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Wolfe was Denver’s second round pick (36th overall) in the 2012 NFL Draft and spent eight seasons with the Broncos. He played the 2020 season with the Baltimore Ravens before calling it a career.
He recorded 299 tackles and 33 sacks in his nine-year career.
