Less than 30 minutes after the Broncos beat the Los Angeles Chargers on Dec. 1, defensive end Derek Wolfe was equal parts seething and sad.

Wolfe had sustained a dislocated left elbow when he collided with teammate Mike Purcell on a play that should have been whistled dead because of a Chargers false start penalty.

Seething …

“I was just mad that my season was cut short,” Wolfe said at his locker this past week. “I was putting together a really good season.”

And sad …

“I was emotional because it could have been my last game as a Bronco,” Wolfe said. “I’m still emotional about it because it (stinks) that I didn’t get to finish what I was doing and for it to happen on a play that wasn’t supposed to happen, it wasn’t really my fault at all.”

Wolfe, 29, was in positive spirits this past week because the injury did not require surgery and the subsequent long rehabilitation.

“I’m feeling really good,” he said. “I’m probably two weeks ahead of schedule already.”

Not on schedule just yet is Wolfe’s future. A second-round draft pick by the Broncos in 2012, Wolfe’s second contract with the team — a four-year, $36.7 million deal — expires after the season.

“We haven’t been talking,” Wolfe said of his camp and the Broncos.

Surprised?

“No, not really,” he said. “We talked a little bit before the season started, but we were on different pages then and it was bad timing. They were like, ‘We’ll just come back to it.’ Maybe they’re ready to move on from me, maybe not.”

The Broncos have done only two contract-related bits of business since the end of the preseason. They re-worked quarterback Joe Flacco’s deal to create immediate salary cap space and they signed fullback Andy Janovich to a new deal.

The Broncos remain Wolfe’s Plan A.

“I want to finish my career here, absolutely,” he said.

Asked his preferred term, he said: “I would like to have a three-year deal.”

In 12 games this season, Wolfe played 541 snaps and had 34 tackles and a career-high seven sacks. According to The Denver Post’s game charting, he had eight run “stuffs” (gain of one or fewer yards) and 17 pass-rush “disruptions” (seven sacks, five knockdowns and five pressures).

“I felt great,” Wolfe said. “I was still really strong. I was actually getting stronger in the weight room. My ankle was feeling really good. No issues with my head or neck. No issues with my hips. I was getting my second wind and making the push for the fourth quarter of the season.”

Re-signing Wolfe is a necessity for the Broncos. Shelby Harris and Adam Gotsis will be free agents, leaving DeMarcus Walker (entering his fourth year in 2020) and Dre’Mont Jones (entering his second year) as the only ends under contract. Keeping Wolfe would allow the Broncos to wait until after the first couple rounds of the draft to add depth, knowing he is still playing at a high level.

But as Wolfe knows, all it takes is one team to make an out-of-the-box offer (term and guaranteed money) and/or the Broncos deciding they want to get younger and less expensive at an important position.

Wolfe has never entered the open market — he signed his current deal on Jan. 15, 2016.

“I mean, we have all the way to March (to get a deal done),” he said.

A three-year deal with the Broncos would take Wolfe through his age 32 season and, if played out, would make him a 10-year player for the franchise.

Wolfe joined the Broncos during a stretch of five consecutive AFC West titles and one Super Bowl win. Like teammate Von Miller, he wants to be around if the franchise turns things around.

“We were at the top of the barrel,” Wolfe said. “We were the best team in the league. We were the team to beat for five years. For the last four years to go the way it has, it’s really heart-breaking. I feel like I’m just hitting my prime and getting that grown-man strength and grown-man maturity to where I’m really trusting myself on the field. And my instincts are getting more tuned in. …

“I think we have the pieces to be a good, competitive football team. We have a young quarterback (Drew Lock) who has shown a ton of promise and what he brings to the team is like a new life. I’m excited to see what he can do next year and hopefully I can be a part of it.”