Montrell Washington blames himself for Denver’s errors now that the Super Bowl has arrived.

LAS VEGAS — Montrell Washington saw the sights during Super Bowl media night on Monday. He gestured with his phone.

Nonetheless, he did it from a peaceful location on one end of the Allegiant Stadium field, well away from the podiums occupied by his more well-known Kansas City Chiefs teammates.

A player who made a name for himself with the Broncos in 2022 is now firmly in the background with Kansas City, having started over on the practice squad.

Of course, Washington had a big rookie role with the Broncos — at least for a player selected in the fifth round who appeared destined for the undrafted draft before the Broncos selected him.

He was put in as their starting punt returner right away. It didn’t work out, much like when the Broncos tried that with Isaiah McKenzie, another fifth-round pick, five years prior.

Washington was clearly speedy, but he had shaky ball security—he fumbled five times. Washington also lost his job after special teams coach Dwayne Stukes was sacked. For his two games in charge, interim head coach Jerry Rosburg deactivated Washington.

In Round 2, the Broncos selected Marvin Mims Jr., Washington’s replacement, less than four months later. Mims played returner in the Pro Bowl.

Still, Sean Payton’s Washington team appeared more polished during practice last summer. Although the Broncos’ decision to waive him was mostly predetermined, Washington did show noticeable development.

So, was the time he got cut frustrating?

“It wasn’t,” he declared.

MONTRELL WASHINGTON ACCEPTS HIS OWN FAULT

In fact, Washington did not complain about being thrown into the fire too quickly or about the Broncos using their first-round draft choice on a punt returner with little money.

He remarked, “I guess I just didn’t do enough on my end.”

“Coaches are never to be blamed.” Anything like that would never be the fault of the players. At the end of the day, everything is always my responsibility. I suppose I was just naive and wasn’t exerting myself as much to maintain my position with the Denver Broncos. But as I said, fortunately, everything turned out okay. Being at the Super Bowl and with the Chiefs is truly a blessing.

“That’s all; it just started another fire.”

Montrell Washington is still learning a few things, though. This season, he was activated off the practice squad and saw action in six games with the Chiefs during his brief 53-player roster tenure. He had four clean catches on a kickoff and eight punts fielded. In Week 6 against the Broncos, he fumbled twice, but they happened on the same return play; he recovered from a muff, but the ball went out of bounds.

It’s better when thirteen kicks or punts are fielded and just one is fumbled. Keeping the 53-player roster intact for the entire season is the next stage, he hopes.