Coming off a rock-solid rookie campaign, Spencer Larsen was set on making a big splash in his second season at the pro ranks.

Against the Falcons last season, Larsen became the first Bronco in team history to start on both offense (fullback) and defense (linebacker) in the same game. Against coverage units, Larsen became a standout special teams player, finishing tied for third on the club with nine tackles. He was fast becoming known as one of the Broncos’ most versatile players.

This offseason, Larsen was determined to continue his role as a multidimensional player. Thus, he dug deep into his collection of playbooks during his spare time, while rotating between offensive, defensive and special teams meetings during OTAs, mini-camps and training camp.

Finally confident in the different concepts thrown at him, Larsen was set on applying what he learned during the offseason in the team’s regular season opener at Cincinnati. Those plans, however, were quickly derailed by a freak pregame accident. As the game was nearing kickoff, Larsen slipped and fell in the locker room, landing on his shoulder and costing him several weeks of action.

“I watched the game in the locker room by myself with ice on my shoulder for three hours,” Larsen remembers. “It was a wonderful win, but it was very hard seeing everybody come in at halftime and not being able to be a part of it.”