Broncos

Expectations are high for the Broncos in 2026, and QB Bo Nix is right at the center of things. He said he feels more in command as he heads into his third season. 

“Year 1, I’m trying to just not mess up for the team,” Nix said via The Athletic’s Nick Kosmider. “I feel like Year 3, I’m trying to make plays for the team. It’s just quite a different feeling. It’s just a confidence-level thing.”

For example, Nix said early on he avoided throwing toward CB Patrick Surtain II, arguably the best at his position in football. This year, Nix has made it a point to challenge Surtain more regardless of the result. 

“My first two years, if (Surtain) was over there, I pretty much worked to the other side of the field, but I don’t think that does him (any) diligence,” Nix said. “Now that I feel a little bit more confident and comfortable, I don’t mind throwing it his way and getting an incompletion on the stat sheet just to help him out every once in a while.

“He does a really good job, and every once in a while, when we get to complete one on him, it kind of feels good for the morale of the offense. It shows us that we’re also really good and we can attack the best player in football on defense.”

For all of Nix’s success in his first two seasons, there are still questions about where he falls in the pecking order of quarterbacks around the league. It’s a hot debate topic, and sometimes Broncos HC Sean Payton couldn’t help but weigh in to defend his guy this offseason. That said, next offseason the Broncos might need to put a number on how much they truly like Nix, and that number could be over $60 million a year. It depends on how this season goes, which Nix knows but isn’t dwelling on. 

“Competitively, the way we are as players, you better treat every year as a year you have to prove it,” Nix said. “You have to go out there and show the team that you’re worth what they’re putting in for you and what they’re building around you. You can’t ever let up and think that, ‘I’ve made it. I’ve gotten to where I need to be.’ Quite honestly, I’ll never feel that way.

“There’s always the next season. There’s always the next championship to go after. I think every year for every player is going to feel like a contract year, because it should.” 

Chiefs

• Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo on the challenges of Week 1: “I’m not sure we’ve had a one-week stretch where we’ve had all the same guys (healthy)… It’ll be challenging… How well do you adjust during the game… We’ve played these guys before, but it is a new coordinator… The youth and newness will be one thing, and the in-game adjustments.” (Goldman)
• Spagnuolo on the chemistry of the defense: “It might take the first month… you just hope while you’re figuring it out that you win some games… That’s real… It’s going to take a little while… That’s why, going into this game plan, we try to shave things off because we want guys to play fast.” (Goldman)
• Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy says he’s known that QB Patrick Mahomes would be ready for Week 1: “He’s been working his ass off since Day 1 of this injury… I’m not shocked or surprised… It shouldn’t be a story because of the nature of the competitor.” (Goldman)
• Bieniemy on WR Rashee Rice: “He’s done an outstanding job… What I love about him is that he’s accepted the challenge to come out and work… My whole thing is getting him to understand and see it from a different point of view…” (Goldman)

Raiders

• Adam Schefter reports that Raiders TE Brock Bowers underwent a meniscus trim Tuesday, and the Raiders now believe he could miss only Week 1 and return against the Chargers in Week 2.
• Schefter adds that the team plans to see how Bowers feels next week, but his return is clearly now a possibility.