Broncos OLB Nik Bonitto Undergoes Procedure for Foot Issue

Denver Broncos outside linebacker Nik Bonitto recently underwent a procedure to clean up a bone spur in his foot, an injury that's sidelined the Pro Bowl pass-rusher since last week's preseason opener.

Head coach Sean Payton said Thursday that Bonitto had a "simple" bone spur in a "unique spot" of his foot. With it presumably corrected, the "goal" is for him to return to practice next week.

“Real quick with Nik, he had a little spur on the top of his foot," Payton told the assembled media. "Now I had two spurs removed on my big toe, and that hurt like a you-know-what. So I’m a little bit still recovering. It’s better. His is something that we just had done, and we knew that he was going to miss this week. He’ll be up and at it next week. He’s been fantastic. His miss, the days he’s missed have been this simple bone spur in a unique spot on the top of the foot. It’s not weight-bearing. He went ahead and had it done. I think three stitches. The goal would be to have him back at practice next week, getting some work against New Orleans.”

Bonitto was seen limping off amid Denver's 30-9 victory over the San Francisco 49ers last Saturday. The fourth-year pro turned in an exceptional performance prior to departing, single-handedly wrecking an early drive with 1.5 sacks and three quarterback pressures on 49ers quarterback Mac Jones.

Payton claimed Tuesday that Bonitto was "doing fine" and anticipated him practicing this week. That didn't come to be -- but it never made much sense anyway considering Denver isn't playing its starters in Saturday's exhibition contest versus Arizona.

The first-string units are expected to play roughly 8-10 snaps in next week's preseason finale at New Orleans. Barring a setback, Bonitto should be among that group on the Caesars Superdome field, his foot malady behind him entering a potentially lucrative 2025 campaign.

“It was something he noticed last week, and if you ever see him, he’s got really good edge power. He has bend, and these deposits kind of grow where there’s pressure. It’s like your bone reacts to it and says more," Payton said. "So it was small. I think initially he was like, ‘Will it be just a day or two?’ I think the feeling with our foot and ankle specialist is like, yes, but this isn’t something that you locally shoot. He said, ‘Nik, this is so easy to remove and then not have to deal with it on Monday every other week.’ Then, all right, what’s the downside when you say three and a half, four days? Maybe it’s five days since it just made a lot of sense.”