ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — For the Broncos, it doesn’t get much bigger than having Bo Nix back at practice for the first time since he underwent a pair of procedures on his ankle over the course of the offseason.
Nix did not take part in team-period repetitions; those were left for backups Jarrett Stidham, Sam Ehlinger and former Baylor quarterback Sawyer Robertson, who was in on a tryout basis. But what Nix showed during the individual periods was enough for him to hit a needed milepost in his path back.
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“Look, there were certain things he didn’t do in the team periods, but a lot of what he did in the individual, he’s doing well,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said. “He’s doing really well. I was just talking to (Denver Sports 104.3 morning-show co-host) Mark Schlereth earlier pre-practice, and, he’ll clearly be ready in time for training camp. I think he’s going to be full by the end of this month. And yet it’s good to have him out here in uniform.”
The Broncos held Nix back. The third-year quarterback still chomped for more.
“Yes, I could go full go right now if they wanted me to,” Nix said.
But considering what Nix has gone through since he injured his ankle during overtime of the Broncos’ Jan. 17 divisional-round win over the Buffalo Bills, it was best to be cautious. After his first surgery and in the midst of his rehabilitation, concern about bone spurs grew. Thus, the follow-up procedure he had in late April.
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“So the first one, obviously right after the season, non weight-bearing for a couple weeks, get back going, felt pretty good,” Nix said.
“Still having a little bit of an issue with the bone spurs. So what we did was — even though I probably could have done the whole season again — it was just aggravating me for too long. So what we did was, since I was a little bit ahead, I thought it best to go ahead and decompress it a little bit and then, still have plenty of time to get back for the summer to prepare for the season. ”
And while he hasn’t been able to work much on getting timing with new Broncos wide receiver Jaylen Waddle until now, neither Payton nor Nix feels that the time away from practice will hinder him — in part because of the experience he’s already banked over the last two years.
“I don’t feel that way,” Payton said. “I think you’d have to ask him relative to maybe timing or. But I think. I think that, man, he’s been throwing in, you know, it’s not like today’s the first day he’s put sunscreen on. You know, he’s been out here and getting a lot of work in.
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Added Nix: “OTAs-wise, you want to go through them. But at this point, going into Year Three, actually the other day at practice, somebody said I played [36] games already, which is just hard to believe it’s been that long.
“… But I feel really good where I’m at. I’m actually sort of glad we’ve got it [the ankle surgeries] all out of the way. Don’t have to do it in the years to come. But, football is a physical game, so, there’s no telling what will come up.
“But for right now, I feel really good about the steps I’m making and I’m going to be just fine.”
THE SAME CANNOT BE SAID FOR EDGE RUSHER JONATHON COOPER
BIG THING NO. 2: No Jonathon Cooper, and what it means
The team elected to give edge rusher Jonathon Cooper an excused absence from minicamp. But what stood out Tuesday was something Payton said about the organization’s standards — and what that could mean for any further action or reaction regarding the sixth-year edge rusher in the wake of his two arrests and multiple charges.
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“Obviously, he’s got to work on himself, and the club is very much in tune to the league office, local authorities here, and we’ve had several meetings,” Payton said.
“Clearly, from an ownership standpoint, head coach, organizationally, there’s a bar that we have in an expectation that we have that’s very high. We’ll consider all of that as we continue to gather the information.”
Legal entanglements have been rare for the Broncos since the Walton-Penner group took over, and upper management is understandably conscious of projecting a good image in regard to the community. Given that the club is attempting to lay the groundwork for one of the most ambitious urban-renewal projects in Denver history, the need to project a positive image is magnified.
And from a football perspective, Dondrea Tillman, Que Robinson and Jonah Elliss continued their solid work, all recording multiple pressures on Tuesday. The Broncos have options and depth at edge. Tillman and Elliss could start for plenty of teams. Robinson was described last week as a potential starter in the future by defensive coordinator Vance Joseph.
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In other words, the Broncos have options. And Cooper’s contract is not onerous. This will bear close monitoring in the coming months.
LESSER-KNOWN BRONCOS FLASHED TUESDAY
Some of Tuesday’s biggest plays came from unheralded players. You had Adam Prentice bursting wide open down the right seam, catching a pass from Sam Ehlinger and … then he just kept going, 75 yards down the field for a touchdown. That came off an audible during a period in which the defense was cranking up the pressure.
One play earlier, we saw Matt Henningsen burst into the backfield, deflect an Ehlinger pass and keep it for himself, not stopping until he had a touchdown, which led to a riotous celebration from his defensive teammates. It was a nice moment for Henningsen, who saw his 2025 eason end in August when he was injured in the joint practice against the 49ers.
Watch the report for more from the first day of Broncos Minicamp:
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