With two Super Bowl rings to his name and NFL street cred to the hilt, retired receiver Rod Smith showed up at Broncos headquarters to impart lessons on how a once-proud franchise could get its winning mojo back.
But after Smith was introduced to the team on a recent spring day, something slightly unexpected and totally beautiful happened. One of the feistiest players to ever wear a Denver uniform revealed the pain and anxiety in his heart, then told the Broncos how a shot in the arm can be a powerful symbol of love.
With the same boldness Smith displayed every time he snared a pass in the angry teeth of a defense, the 51-year-old Ring of Famer told current players if they truly cared about team chemistry and the people outside football that matter most to them, the Broncos would put aside any fear or hesitancy about the COVID-19 vaccine, roll up their sleeves and get inoculated long before the upcoming 2021 NFL season began.