You ask if he’s too tired to pinch himself, and Mike Purcell laughs. Dude spent the fall of 2018 working out on faith, praying for the phone to ring. Every time his wife queried as to what he wanted for Christmas 13 months ago, the answer was always the same: A job.

“Been a long year,” the Broncos nose tackle and former Highlands Ranch standout admitted. “Been a real long year.”

And an even longer road. Over a 10-month span from February to December 2019, Purcell played in 26 football games: eight in the Alliance of American Football, five during the Broncos’ preseason and 13 regular-season appearances with Denver, including seven starts.

“It’s been a journey,” Purcell said. “But I think I’ve always belonged here in this league. (The Broncos) actually gave me a chance to prove that.”

The studios don’t usually bite on movies about 7-9 seasons. But there’s something almost Hollywood about No. 98’s narrative, something beyond cool about the local guy who came home the long way ‘round.

“Mike’s just one of those guys where, if you take a chance on him and he comes to your club and the things are right, he’s going to make the team,” said former Colorado State and NFL assistant coach Scott Brown, who recruited Purcell out of high school and then again when the 328-pound plugger was an undrafted free agent out of the University of Wyoming.

“He’s tough. He’s one of those guys, if you’re in trouble, walking down a dark alley, you want Mike Purcell with you. Because he won’t quit. He just won’t quit.”

Seven NFL teams since 2013. One AAF pit stop in Salt Lake. Still grinding.

“I was a free agent all last year and I went into (the AAF) with the mindset of wanting to get back here,” the 28-year-old Purcell said. “And I wanted to play football, period. The biggest thing (was) that I wanted to keep playing football, and (Salt Lake) gave me the chance to put that film out there. And I got blessed with the right opportunity here with (coach) Vic (Fangio), with this defense and this being the hometown.

“I mean, it’s come full-circle. But it’s been a journey.”

“We put Denver on notice”

It’s been a pleasure, too, especially over the last seven weeks. The Broncos’ end-of-season mojo went deeper than Drew Lock. In Purcell’s seven starts on the defensive line, all after Oct. 6, Denver posted a 5-2 record.

“Yeah, it’s been a long season and you’ve just got to take it frame by frame, piece by piece, and just got to go from there,” said Purcell, who wound up with 48 tackles, 28 solo, both career highs, this past autumn.

“But I think we all settled down and really proved the things that we can do with this team. I think we definitely put Denver on notice for next year.”

The combination of big No. 98 at the nose and Shelby Harris at end proved to be a killer, unsung 1-2 interior punch: In Purcell’s seven starts, the Broncos allowed 3.7 yards per carry, 83.6 rushing yards per game and recorded 3.7 sacks per tilt.

In the other nine games, conversely, the Broncos went 2-7. And the defensive totals jumped to 4.5 yards per opponent carry, 133.1 rush yards per game and only 1.6 sacks per contest.

In hindsight, it was one heck of a return on a one-year, $645,000 contract on a guy who was graded out by Pro Football Focus as the third best-defender in the AAF, the ill-fated spring league that folded before it could complete its inaugural slate.

“He had a chance (to stick),” former Salt Lake defensive coordinator Donnie Henderson said of Purcell, “just because of athleticism alone.

“The more you’re playing, the more you’re on tape, the better chance you (have).”

“He’s just a pro’s pro”

And once the NFL opens a door, the hungry ones — the savvy ones — figure out a way to run through it. Purcell joined the Broncos last April, a flyer on a guy Fangio had worked with in San Francisco in 2013 and 2014, No. 98’s first two seasons in the league.

“(Purcell) wasn’t a guy that talked a lot,” recalled Brown, now retired and living in Windsor, who was scouting for the 49ers during Fangio’s last two seasons as the team’s defensive coordinator.

“He was around all the time. He studied at night and at home. During the game he could give you direct answers to direct questions. And if he had something on his mind, he’d tell you. He’s just a pro’s pro, in my opinion.”

In 2015, when Jim Tomsula took over as Niners coach, Brown moved from the personnel side to the coaching staff, picking up the baton for the defensive line. Which gave him a chance to work with Purcell every day, a chance to see that work ethic, and flexibility, up close.

“I can tell you that the day I said to Mike, ‘I want to play you at defensive end, I know it’s not your position, but I trust you,’” Brown recalled, “he just looked me in the eye and said, ‘Coach, you can count on me.’”

Hello, harbingers.

Hello, Hollywood.

“It definitely feels good being able to prove myself here, just to be back in the NFL,” Purcell said. “So I think, in that sense, you could say that (2019) was the most satisfying.”