Exclusive: Derek Wolfe remembers the highs and lows of his NFL career

Derek Wolfe’s NFL career ended Friday, retiring a Denver Bronco as he proclaimed that his body is done.

Wolfe, 32, played nine seasons in the NFL, eight of which were with the Broncos. Wolfe signed with the Ravens after the 2019 season for one year and $3 million. Then he extended for three years $12 million, but he never played an NFL game under that contract due to injuries. At the end, with a body broken, Wolfe will be remembered as a beast edge rusher.

Wolfe was honored by the Broncos on Friday, signing a contract for the day to retire in orange. Wolfe paraded around UC Health Training Center one last time, even doing a howl.

One more howl. 🐺#ThankYouDWolfe x @Derek_Wolfe95 pic.twitter.com/Rowh4Qhedg

— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) July 29, 2022

Wolfe joined 104.3 The Fan’s Brandon Stokley and Zach Bye for their midday show, where he detailed his career.

“I don’t have any regrets, I don’t think. ‘oh, I wish I could have done this, or maybe I could have played another year,'” he said. “I know winning a Super Bowl for me; I got that in my back pocket.”

Wolfe chatted about the time he was nearly paralyzed for several hours, his battle with seizures and bum hips.

“My body is done,” he said. “Honestly, I didn’t see myself ever being able to do what I usually do. I started trying to do little side-to-side stuff, like, ‘Yeah, no chance.'”

But what Broncos fans will remember are the big hits and big plays he made for Super Bowl 50 champs playing next to MVP Von Miller.

“It’s a credit to Von because Von could have been like, ‘No, I’m going to go beat him. I’m going to win one on one.’ He didn’t care. All he cared about is how we got the quarterback to the ground,” Wolfe recalls. Yeah, he wanted it to be him obvious. But I didn’t care. Sometimes I think maybe I should have like tried to make some more plays for myself.”

“I know how Von rushes; if I feel a lot of space there, he’s coming, so I gotta cover,” he said. “I always tried to put the team first, above myself. I always wanted to win, no matter what. And if we got the quarterback to the ground, I didn’t care. And the fans here in Denver, they knew that I was a part of it. And that’s why they showed me so much, love. I started to tear up walking down with my daughter because it’s just why I love the city so much. And this organization and the fans, they are awesome fans. It’s not like that everywhere.”

Wolfe was part of some tough times after Peyton Manning retired and the Broncos searched for a quarterback.

“There’s a huge hole that needs to be filled; they have no quarterback; we got coaches in and out,” he said. “Ownership stuff that was going on here, it rolls downhill. Every year as players, we were like, ‘Let’s turn it around. Let’s do something.’ And it’s not like we’re going out there just playing soft football, we were playing tough football, but we’re getting blown out. And that’s miserable, absolutely miserable. Going from being a team blown people out to being the blown out team is not fun.”

Happy retirement to Derek Wolfe! This dude was a blast to cover in Denver. We kept our finger on the dump button, please believe lol. The only active player I’ve seen come in & do 3 hours of radio. He’s got a future in media if he wants it. Cheers to a great career!🍻 pic.twitter.com/JUytjBO47A

— Zach Bye (@byesline) July 29, 2022

Wolfe says now that he’s hung up the jersey, he may trade it for a sports jacket and try his hand at media. Wolfe had joined 104.3 in the past to do a show with Bye but one thing that will stick with him no matter what are his 34 sacks. His favorite was of Tom Brady.

“We were playing New England, and it was third and seventh or eight. Somebody needed to make a play. The linebacker on the play busted. They dropped when they shouldn’t have dropped. I had a good read on his guard. I was like, alright, he’s going to sit back, and I’m going to get a long arm, and it’s going to get some pressure. Well, I’m pressing him back, and then here comes the tackle. And I grabbed the tackle. I threw them both to the ground. I reached out. I grabbed Tom Brady by his jersey, and I like folded them in half and almost got away, but I was a wrestler. So naturally, I grabbed his leg and got him down. I felt like a superhuman. The thing is, it was snowing. And I never get a flu shot ever. But I was talked into it. I get the flu shot. What do I do? I get the flu before the game, and I’m miserable. I’m in full pads in the training room at the stadium laying in the training room. Just knocked out sleeping in full pads with my helmet on. That’s my favorite sack.”