Broncos' Sean Payton explains preseason plan for QB Bo Nix

The Denver Broncos are slowly working quarterback Bo Nix back from two offseason surgeries on his right ankle.

Nix fractured the ankle in the Broncos' AFC divisional-round playoff win over the Buffalo Bills. He had surgery shortly after in January and then another follow-up surgery in April to deal with bone spurs in the same ankle.

Nix, the 12th overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, was limited all offseason, but he is expected to get back into action this preseason. He has practiced full-go since the start of training camp.

On Wednesday, head coach Sean Payton revealed that Nix will play in Denver's preseason games. It's just not going to happen in the first game, scheduled for Friday against the Atlanta Falcons.

"Bo won't play in this game; he'll play next week," Payton said after practice on Wednesday, according to Jeff Legwold of ESPN. "If we were playing a [regular-season] game -- he wants to play; he'll play the next two weeks."

Nix has said that he's feeling good and, more than anything, the surgeries on his ankle aren't causing him to hold up as a runner. Last season, he threw for 3,931 yards and 25 touchdowns (11 interceptions) while also rushing for 356 yards and five touchdowns on the ground.

Bo Nix confident in his ability to run for Broncos 

Whether it's bootlegs or scrambling, Nix feels confident.

"I'm going to roll [out]. I'm going to be as athletic as I can be. ... It's a strength of ours, and so we've got to use our strengths," Nix has said in camp. "For me, that's when I feel at my best, that's when I feel free. When I'm playing like that, when I'm moving around, it's a good thing."

For what it's worth, Payton seems to agree that Nix is looking good. In fact, he said that if this were a regular-season game and the quarterback was playing, he'd be playing at 100-percent.

"He's right where we were hoping he'd be," Payton said.