The way Denver Broncos safety Talanoa Hufanga plays the game — with an edge — is why he’s been one of the NFL’s best at his position for his entire career.
It’s also why Hufanga ended up with an $11,593 fine from the NFL for unnecessary roughness for his actions against Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love in the first quarter of Denver’s 34-26 win in Week 15.
It was the 11th consecutive win for Denver, which improved to 12-2 headed into a Week 16 home game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“The NFL fined Broncos safety Talanoa Hufanga $11,533 for unnecessary roughness — shoving Packers QB Jordan Love’s head after a play last week,” NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero wrote on X on Saturday, December 20. “No flag was thrown.”
Hufanga was an NFL All-Pro with the San Francisco 49ers in 2022 but battled injuries the last 2 seasons before signing a 3-year, $39 million free agent contract with the Broncos in March.
Hufanga has played in all 14 games for Denver this season with 97 tackles, 10 pass deflections and 6 TFL. He even played through a nasty illness that threatened to keep him out of a Week 13 overtime win over the Washington Commanders.
According to Spotrac, it’s the first time Hufanga has received an NFL fine in his 5 seasons.
Broncos Investment in Hufanga Paying Off
It may have seemed like the Broncos paid too much for Hufanga with the $39 million, but it’s hard to say it hasn’t already paid off.
In reality, it might end up being one of the great free agent investments by the franchise in recent memory.
The biggest evidence of that is the fact Hufanga hasn’t missed a game this season after only playing in 17 games the previous 2 seasons combined with the San Francisco 49ers due to injuries.
Hufanga was an NFL All-Pro for the 49ers in 2022 on the way to playing in the Super Bowl but being sidelined the last 2 years drove his free agent price down considerably.
It’s not hard to imagine a world in which, had Hufanga stayed healthy, he would have ended up one of the NFL’s Top 5 highest paid safeties. That’s a difference between making around $20 million per year opposed to the $13 million per year the Broncos are paying Hufanga.
Secondary Injury Puts Added Pressure on Hufanga
Hufanga will have a little more on his plate for the final 3 games of the regular season and the playoffs after the Broncos placed fellow standout safety Brandon Jones on injured reserve on December 15 with a pec injury.
“Jones exited the Broncos’ eventual win over the Packers in the second quarter after making a tackle on tight end Luke Musgrave,” Heavy.com’s Josh Buckhalter wrote. “He was ruled out for the contest early in the third quarter.The Broncos later announced they placed Jones on injured reserve.”
“It’s the next man up mentality,” Jones’ replacement, P.J. Locke, told The Denver Post’s Parker Gabriel. “It’s a tough situation and I really pray it’s not as bad as what it sounds like. Hopefully he gets some good news in the morning when he gets his MRI.”
“He’s an awesome player, man. It’s hard to replace him.”
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This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
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