Sean Payton Confirms Broncos LB Cody Barton is New Defensive Signal-Caller

Cody Barton now sports the green dot on his helmet in the wake of Alex Singleton.

Sep 29, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson (5) gains yards after catch before fumbling in front of Denver Broncos linebacker Cody Barton (55) during the first half at MetLife Stadium. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Entering the 2024 season, the Denver Broncos' inside linebacker position featured many question marks. With long-time linebacker leader Josey Jewell departing in free agency, the Broncos were expecting Alex Singleton to become more than a tackling machine.

The Broncos were asking Singleton to also lead. But when he went down with a season-ending ACL injury last week, even more pressure was put on the Broncos' inside linebacker corps.

On Sunday, we got our first look at how the Broncos would try to counter the loss of Singleton. Cody Barton and Justin Strnad started the game, as the Broncos grounded Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets on the road with a 10-9 victory in the rain.

On Monday, Broncos head coach Sean Payton seemed to confirm that Barton is the new defensive signal-caller with the green dot on his helmet, and tipped his cap to Strnad for stepping into Singleton's shoes and answering the bell as Denver held the Jets to just 248 total yards, 64 of which were on the ground.

“I think it would be more Alex to Justin because Cody kind of stayed in the same position he's been playing," Payton said. "I mean, Cody had the green dot, but other than that—those guys stepped up. It's always difficult when you lose someone who's been as productive and certainly one of the team leaders. [I] was proud of the way those young guys played.”

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Indeed, the Broncos lost a team captain when Singleton was placed on injured reserve. Before Sunday's game, Payton was reticent to reveal who would take over Singleton's green-dot duty, and now we know it was Barton, who was signed to a one-year deal this past offseason.

It was Strnad who was suddenly thrust into a more prominent role within Vance Joseph's defense. The early returns are more than encouraging.

Barton finished with 10 tackles at MetLife Stadium (four solo), while Strnad notched four (three solo). Strnad also chipped in a sack on Rodgers — one of five sacks on the future Hall-of-Famer.

If Week 4 is any indication, the Broncos appear to be in a good place at linebacker. In the immediate aftermath of Singleton's injury, the Broncos signed veterans Kwon Alexander and Zach Cunningham to the practice squad.

Exactly how the two practice-squad veterans will be worked into the linebacker rotation remains to be seen. But Joseph has this defense humming at an elite level, and deserves credit for how well the Broncos have been able to corral opponents, and keep this still-sputtering offense in the game.

Time will tell whether Barton will continue to hold the green-dot responsibility on defense. For now, though, he's the logical guy.

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