Surgeon Helps Jake Plummer Enjoy NFL Retirement (Mostly) Pain Free

DENVER (CBS4) - Former Denver Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer is back living in Colorado and told CBS4's Vic Lombardi on Xfinity Monday Live that he couldn't' be happier. He's just trying to keep busy.

"It's fun to be back, running into fans and just remembering good times when I was playing ball here," Plummer said. "It's a nice place to live."

He now resides in Boulder and says, as with other retired athletes, he can get a little bored at times.

"I try to stay busy. I've been trying to get healthy, I had my hips worked on," he said. "For me, just trying to get myself back in shape. The game is rough; it takes a toll on your body. If you're not up on that and staying in shape it can really lead to some pain and some days where you don't feel too good. I'm trying to get back to feeling good and not let the NFL be an excuse for not going and doing fun stuff."

Plummer said a lot of players end up with hip problems after a career in the NFL.

"A lot of players deal with that. They don't know it's their hips, they have low back pain. So I was lucky to run into Dr. (Marc) Philippon up in Vail and had the surgeries done early enough that I'm back. I'll be to almost 100 percent with no metal or anything else in my body," he said.

With Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o's troubles in the media recently, Lombardi wondered if Plummer would draft Te'o if he was running the Broncos.

"I don't know him well enough as a player, but I think if I sat down and talked to him I'd love him. You can just see his energy and his love of the game, what Notre Dame did this year, they would not have done that, I don't think, without a player like him who definitely was the anchor."

He said the drama surrounding Te'o maybe added a little bit to his hype.

"I think, drop away all of the stuff about character, I don't think he's a bad guy," Plummer said. "He just got sucked into a bad situation. I think he's a hell of a football player."

Lombardi also wanted to talk about Plummer's old center, Tom Nalen, who now appears on CBS4 as a guest analyst for the Broncos. Back when Nalen played, he wouldn't ever even talk to the media. Now he's a part of it. Lombardi asked Plummer if he was surprised that Nalen went to the "dark side."

"Well, I can't say too much because the day might come around when I could possibly leak into the dark side," Plummer joked. "He's obviously knowledgeable about the game and played for many years. He's very witty and a clever and funny guy, so I hope that can come out in what he's doing because I love Tommy and I at least get to see his face on TV."

Plummer loves the game of handball and his brother will be in Denver to play in the Colorado State Doubles Tournament at the Denver Athletic Club this week. Some of the top players in the world will be participating.

"It started playing when I was about 12. My brothers and my dad played, so once I got a little stronger I could actually enjoy it," he said.

Plummer is encouraging everybody to go to the tournament. There's a clinic for kids on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Plummer even went so far as to challenge Lombardi to a handball match.

"I'll challenge you to a match whenever you want, even when I'm 98," Plummer said.

"Your hips don't work," Lombardi said.

"That's fine, I still would beat you," Plummer replied.

LINK: Jack Plummer On Colorado Handball

- By Matthew J. Buettner, CBSDenver.com

Watch more of the video with Jake Plummer in the Xfinity Monday Live section.