Broncos CB Patrick Surtain Says Embattled Teammate 'Racially Profiled' by Refs

Broncos CB Patrick Surtain Defends Teammate Riley Moss Against Alleged Racial Profiling

Denver Broncos cornerback and reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Patrick Surtain II spoke out in support of fellow starting cornerback Riley Moss. The discussion surrounding Moss often revolves around race, as he is the NFL’s first white starting cornerback in 22 years, beginning with the 2024 season opener. Since then, Moss has emerged as one of the NFL’s top young cornerbacks despite facing a high volume of passes thrown his way.

This extra attention is not due to poor performance but rather because Surtain, the other starting cornerback, is highly respected and rarely targeted by opposing teams. In fact, at one point in 2024, the chance of a successful pass completion against Surtain was so low that teams statistically preferred throwing the ball away rather than completing a pass to his side.

Surtain is also frequently penalized for defensive pass interference. He humorously suggested that Moss, being white, might be subject to racial profiling by officials during games.

“I ain’t gonna lie, I think they racial profiling my dog,” Surtain said on the Closed on Sundays With Pat and Terrion podcast with Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold. “They calling all these flags on my boy … I ain’t gonna lie, these flags is egregious. He had a rep against CeeDee Lamb where he played the ball, where he was in perfect position, and he still got a flag.”

Surtain will miss the next three weeks due to a pec strain, leaving Moss to continue proving his talent on the field.

Author's summary: Patrick Surtain defends teammate Riley Moss amid claims of racial profiling by refs, highlighting Moss’s emergence as a top NFL cornerback despite unfair penalties.

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Heavy Sports Heavy Sports — 2025-11-01

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