Pat Surtain II is close to having a new running mate.
Or at least a new candidate for the job.
Denver is bringing cornerback Levi Wallace back to town Monday, sources confirmed to The Post, and a deal is expected to follow if everything goes to plan. The move would add veteran presence to a group that is otherwise young around Surtain.
The 28-year-old also made a free agent visit to Denver earlier this month, setting the stage for a decision.
NFL Network first reported the deal was close.
Wallace spent the past two seasons in Pittsburgh and four before that with Buffalo after going undrafted in 2018.
The 6-foot cover man has been a regular in the lineup essentially his entire career. He played in 31 combined games over the past two years with the Steelers, started 18 times and logged more than 700 defensive snaps in each season. Over four years with the Bills, he started all 52 games he appeared in.
Wallace’s signing fits with what Denver has done so far in free agency: add low-cost veterans without fully taking opportunity out of younger players’ hands.
The same way veteran offensive lineman Sam Mustipher gives the Broncos a veteran option at center without guaranteeing he’ll beat out Alex Forsyth or Luke Wattenberg for the job, Wallace provides experience at a cornerback position that otherwise lacks it around Surtain.
Denver traded a 2024 third-round pick to move up in the draft last year and select Riley Moss out of Iowa, but Moss dealt with a core muscle injury during camp and played very little defense as a rookie. He turned himself into a good special teams player, though, and has been called a starting-caliber player by head coach Sean Payton and general manager George Paton repeatedly this offseason.
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Denver also has third-year man Damarri Mathis, who got off to a promising start as a rookie and entered 2023 as a starter but struggled and eventually lost his job. His replacement, veteran Fabian Moreau, is a free agent and has not yet signed with a team.
Ja’Quan McMillian blossomed from a little-known, undrafted player into one of the most disruptive nickels in the NFL during his second pro season in 2023 and is capable of playing outside. Denver, however, likely wants to keep him in the slot where he excelled.
“We like our corner group,” Paton said last week. “We have one of the best corners in the league. We like our nickel in ‘J-Mac’. We have two young outside guys, Riley [Moss], and Damarri and also Tremon (Smith). We have a good, young group.
“They’re younger, so we like the group, but you’re always looking to add at those type of positions.”
So the Broncos opted for Wallace this spring to add another option to the mix. Next up is the draft, where Denver will likely end up adding more to their secondary somewhere along the way and perhaps as early as the first round.
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