Former CFL star Alex Singleton has been ‘the best backer in football for a long time’: Broncos DC Vance Joseph

Photo courtesy: Ben Swanson/Denver Broncos

Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph has something in common with most CFL fans: he believes Alex Singleton is a world-class talent.

The 54-year-old defensive guru gave the former Calgary Stampeders linebacker high praise this week after he was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Month for October.

“I saw it last year. Guys, he’s played good football for us for a long time, and it’s a shame that he’s finally being recognized for it. I’ve known he’s a pretty good player for a long time,” Joseph told reporters. “I watch film every day, and I told him this last year, ‘I don’t see a lot of guys better than you.’ Obviously, the green dot (designating in-helmet communication) for us is very important, so outside of him making a bunch of plays, he’s our quarterback on defence. For me, he’s been the best backer in football for a long time; I’m not surprised.”

Singleton currently leads the NFL with 101 total tackles through eight games, making him the third player since 2000 to pass the century mark in that number of contests. 68 of those tackles have come over the last four weeks, which earned him official recognition.

The 32-year-old described the honour as “sick” before quickly attributing his success to the other members of the Broncos defence. When informed of Joseph’s praise, he wasn’t nearly so quick to dismiss.

“It’s everything. I would assume he’s probably 99 percent of the reason I’m here, maybe more than that,” Singleton said. “To have him say that means everything because he means so much to my career. To have his support is everything.”

The Thousand Oaks, Cal., native, who qualified for Canadian citizenship through his mother, played three seasons with the Calgary Stampeders after he was selected sixth overall during the 2016 CFL Draft. He recorded 123 tackles over his final two years and earned two CFL all-star selections along with a Most Outstanding Defensive Player award.

Singleton hoisted the Grey Cup in 2018 with the Stamps before taking advantage of his renewed NFL opportunity. He has now spent eight seasons south of the border, three with the Philadelphia Eagles and now five with the Broncos. The last four of those have come with Joseph as his defensive coordinator.

The six-foot-two, 240-pound linebacker is a team captain and was voted by his teammates as the recipient of the Ed Block Courage Award after he overcame surgery to remove a cancerous tumour in November. However, league-wide recognition has eluded him to this point.

“That’s the league,” Joseph shrugged. “When you’re playing good on defence, guys do get recognized. He’s been consistent for a long time. He had 171 tackles two years ago; no one talks about that. I’m not surprised he’s playing well again.”

This is far from the first time that Singleton has racked up tackles. In 103 career games, he has amassed 869 tackles, 30 tackles for loss, seven sacks, three forced fumbles, three interceptions, and two defensive touchdowns. Not every tackle is worth the same, though he feels confident that his recent production has been all substance.

“It depends on when they are, where they are in a game, situations, all that stuff. I told you guys two weeks ago, the Kansas City game in Week 1 is a lot of cleaning up stuff, and then you’re just getting them. I would say the last seven weeks, our entire defence, every tackle’s been a guy making a play,” Singleton said. “There hasn’t been a lot of mistakes that we’ve made in the last two months, so it’s just a lot of making plays. Those are good ones.”

The Denver Broncos (6-2) will visit the Carolina Panthers (3-4) on Sunday, November 8, at 1:00 p.m. ET.