CENTENNIAL, Colo. -- The juxtaposition remains jarring. In 2014, Matt Paradis could not get on the field, spending the entire season on the practice squad. Now, he never comes off the field. Not even for a single play. Paradis has participated in every Broncos' offensive snap for three consecutive seasons, including 1,103 this year.
His mini-Iron Man streak becomes more impressive when considering he could not practice most of 2016 because of hip pain and underwent surgery on both hips in the offseason.
"It's pretty cool to have been able to make it this far," Paradis told Denver7. "Health is such a luck game, and I have really been very lucky so far."
A former walk-on at Boise State and sixth-round choice, Paradis knows no other way than to roll up his sleeves, and deal with aches and pains. He takes pride in hard work and practicing. In fact, not being able to work out last year during the week drove him crazy. His teammates voted him as the Ed Block Courage Award winner a year ago for his toughness and character (inside linebacker Todd Davis won the award this season). Paradis earned Pro Bowl alternate honors last season and has been one of Denver's most reliable offensive performers this year. He hit 50 consecutive starts last week against Washington.
"It was cool," Paradis admitted.
Footnotes
Paxton Lynch showed improvement with his left ankle on Friday, but he will guide an undermanned offense. Receivers Emmanuel Sanders (ankle) and Cody Latimer (thigh) were ruled out. It means more snaps for reserve Jordan Taylor, who has earned high praise for his punt returns this month. ... Defensive lineman Zach Kerr (ankle) also will not play.
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