When Justin Strnad went to a family wedding earlier this month in Wisconsin, his uncle had Carolina on his mind.

In March 2024, the linebacker was a free agent after four seasons with the Broncos and came close to signing with the Panthers. There was even a report that he had agreed to terms before he instead opted to re-sign with Denver.

“My uncle was talking to me and he actually mentioned, ‘Could you imagine if you actually went to Carolina? Who knows what would have happened in your career?’’’ Strnad said of the inquiry by Aaron Mazzoni at his cousin Justin Weimer’s wedding. “I’m obviously very thankful for the decision I made.”

Strnad was flirting with the Panthers because he hadn’t gotten in for a Denver defensive snap since 2021 while playing only on special teams. He said family members wanted him to go to Carolina because “a change of scenery and a different opportunity might be better.”

But Strnad’s gut told him to stick it out with the Broncos, who had made him a fifth-round draft pick in 2020 out of Wake Forest, and he signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract. In Week 3 of 2024, starter Alex Singleton suffered a torn ACL and Strnad became a fixture at inside linebacker for the rest of the season.

That led to a one-year, $2.7 million deal to return to the Broncos in 2025. Last season, with anticipated starter Dre Greenlaw having injury issues and getting into just eight games, Strnad became Denver’s most-used inside linebacker aside from Singleton.

After the season, Strnad told The Denver Gazette he only had interest in returning to Denver if he got a multi-year contract and was in line to be a regular starter. The Broncos then locked him up with a three-year, $18 million deal while also re-signing Singleton and releasing Greenlaw.

“It’s obviously a dream-come-true type of thing,’’ Strnad told The Denver Gazette. “But in this league, it’s always just the next-day mentality and always proving everything. Obviously, the financial part is great and I’m very blessed and very thankful to the organization to believe in me.”

Broncos coach Sean Payton is also thankful Strnad, 29, has stuck around.

“From a coaching perspective, never to set a label, maybe, on someone,’’ Payton said of the linebacker’s career trajectory. “Like, you’re always looking to see what he can do. What’s the ceiling? Our job is to try to get (a player) to touch the ceiling if we can. Sometimes we have to condition ourselves to think outside the box, too. He’s done that for us.”

In getting a lucrative contract, it certainly helped Strnad’s cause that he had 4.5 sacks in 2025 and made one of the biggest plays of Denver’s season. With the Broncos trailing the New York Giants 26-16 with 4:56 remaining on Oct. 19 at Empower Field, Strnad picked off a Jaxson Dart pass and returned it 21 yards to the Giants 19, leading to a touchdown. Denver trailed in the fourth quarter by deficits of 19-0 and 26-8 and ended up scoring 33 points in the quarter in a dramatic 33-32 win.

“Obviously, that’s a moment I’ll probably remember the rest of my life,’’ Strnad said. “Even when I’m in a retirement home, I’ll be telling the story about that one. That definitely was a great moment, but it was even better just to get the win that day. It was such an awesome game.”

The victory was the fourth in a row in what would become an 11-game Denver winning streak. The Broncos finished 14-3 and reached the AFC Championship Game before losing 10-7 to New England at home.

That was a game Strnad won’t be bringing up at a retirement home.

“I try not to talk about it too much,’’ he said. “It obviously was a tough loss. We just didn’t do enough to get the win. Obviously, we were very close to that Super Bowl appearance but it wasn’t meant to be.”

That loss, though, has whetted Strnad’s appetite even more to win it all this season with the Broncos, who begin a three-day mandatory minicamp Tuesday.

“The task is we want to win a Super Bowl and I go to work each and every day for that,’’ he said. “It would be the greatest accomplishment in my career and for everyone on this team. So it’s something that we’re striving for every day.”

Strnad has gotten a taste of being in a city when a team won a Super Bowl. When he was 6 and growing up in the Tampa, Fla., area, the Buccaneers defeated the Oakland Raiders 48-21 in January 2003 in Super Bowl XXXVIII in San Diego.

“Me and my brother (Nick Mazzoni) went to where the team buses were when they were about to fly out to the Super Bowl and they had a send-off,’’ Strnad said. “Obviously, growing up, that’s like everyone’s dream to win a Super Bowl.”

Strnad was a die-hard Buccaneers fan when growing up and often went to their training camp. They won another Super Bowl in the 2020 season but Strnad was a Denver rookie and wasn’t cheering for them.

Strnad missed all of his rookie season due to a wrist injury. He logged 316 defensive snaps in 2021 and looked to be making strides. But the Broncos then signed Singleton to pair with Josey Jewell in 2022 and 2023 and Strnad didn’t get a single defensive snap in either season.

Jewell left as a free agent in March 2024. But the Broncos then signed Cody Barton and he became the starter alongside Singleton for the first three games of 2024.

“I think, for sure,’’ Strnad said of being frustrated at going so long without getting a defensive snap. “You always want to be out there and you always want to help your team win and at the time you feel like you’re playing at a level in which you deserve to be out there and you’re not. It is frustrating, but that’s part of the game and I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason.”

While Strnad remained persistent and ended up playing well in 2024 after Singleton got hurt and he was paired with Barton, that still wasn’t enough for the Broncos to earmark him as a starter for 2025. Barton departed but Denver signed Greenlaw in March 2025 to pair with Singleton.

But with Greenlaw having injury issues and Strnad playing even better last season, that finally convinced the Broncos he is worthy of being a regular starter. After Greenlaw was released, he re-signed with San Francisco, returning to the team he had played for from 2019-24.

“Part of it was just football business,’’ said Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph. “We loved Dre but the business of football, you can’t sign everyone and you have to have guys to step up and play for you. Obviously, Justin’s played for us (on a regular basis) for two seasons. He’s earned the right to have a chance to start. He played well for us two years ago. Last year, he played really well for us and it’s his turn.”

For now, Strnad is long removed from having Carolina on his mind.