SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Denver Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain II, the player defensive coordinator Vance Joseph has said is the starting point for the team's defensive plan each week, left Sunday's 24-14 loss at the San Francisco 49ers with an ankle injury.
On a first-and-10 play from the 49ers' 42-yard line with 30 seconds left in the first half, Brock Purdy completed a 4-yard pass to Christian McCaffrey. Away from the play, in front of the 49ers' bench, Surtain pivoted in coverage and began to hop on his left foot and kept his right foot off the ground.
Surtain then went to the ground as he grabbed his right foot and ankle until the Broncos' medical staff arrived. He was helped, with a Broncos staffer holding on to each arm, to the locker room and didn't return for the second half.
The sixth-year cornerback is the hub of the Broncos' defensive wheel. He is a four-time Pro Bowl selection a two-time first-team All Pro and the 2024 Defensive Player of the Year.
Surtain missed three games last season with a pectoral injury.
Joseph has routinely said the Broncos begin their preparations each week with how Surtain will be deployed. Jahdae Barron, the Broncos' first-round pick in the 2025 draft, replaced Surtain in the lineup.
Kris Abrams-Draine also opened the second half at the other cornerback spot when Riley Moss was ruled out. He sustained a rib injury, according to the team; in the preseason, Moss missed time with an injury to his ribs.
Neither Surtain nor Moss was on the sideline when the second half opened.