Cody Barton will now quarterback the Broncos defense

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W. Va. — Early Friday afternoon, Sean Payton wasn’t going to say who would wear the green dot on the helmet, symbolizing which defensive player would have a helmet with a radio receiver to hear playcalls from the sideline.

“We’ll see,” Payton said.

That job became available when the Broncos lost Alex Singleton for the season due to a torn ACL suffered last Sunday.

A few moments later, Cody Barton offered up the information that he would wear the green dot on his helmet, handling the responsibility of relaying Vance Joseph’s calls to the rest of the defense.

The choice of Barton was no surprise. Usually, inside linebackers handle the play-relaying responsibilities, although sometimes the task falls to a safety. Teams generally want to pass the task to a defender who will play every down in a game.

Payton said he was looking for “someone who knows the defense and can communicate it clearly.”

Cody Barton appear to fit the bill. This is something with which he has experience at various points during his previous two career stops in Washington and Seattle before joining the Broncos last March.

Replacing Singleton the defensive play-caller is only part of the equation, of course. The Broncos must also replace his prodigious tackle tally — he led the team in tackles in each of the last two years. Singleton is also one of just nine players with at least 100 total tackles in each of the last four seasons, including a pair of campaigns with the Philadelphia Eagles.

And then there is his leadership, given his role as one of the Broncos’ two defensive captains, along with Pat Surtain II. Surtain is — by his own admission — a “lead by example” type, which puts the onus on the defense to find the vocal leadership Singleton provided.

“It’s gonna have to be everyone,” cornerback Riley Moss said. “It’s a collective effort and that’s a good thing for us. Obviously, it sucks that Alex got hurt, but as a defensive unit, it’ll be good for us to be able to kind of grow in that aspect.”

Broncos CB Pat Surtain, on filling the leadership void with Alex Singleton lost for the season: "I feel like I step up my leadership role even more, losing the presence like that, just rallying behind the whole defense and making sure we on the same page, making sure the standard… pic.twitter.com/v7bDkrWfm7

— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) September 26, 2024