Bo Nix Knows He’s Playing A High-Stakes Game This Season

Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix is trying to get back on the field as quickly as possible, and he’s trying regain his mobility, too. Nix has been working with his quarterback training coach, Ben Neill, in Alabama and Denver to do this, and he understands both Nix’s eagerness and his tendency to deadpan about the situation. 

“I was talking about, ‘Man, you’re probably excited to throw those to (Jaylen) Waddle,'” Neill said in a recent piece written by Luca Evans of the Denver Post. “And he’s like, ‘Yeah, I might have to get it out a little earlier. That guy walks fast.'”

Neill works as a trainer with an outfit called QB Country, and he also knows about Nix’s awareness of his situation. It’s high-level, and Neill quickly added that it’s something for which Nix is well-suited. 

“He’s very aware of the stakes, and the sacrifice, and the responsibility that comes with all the things they’re doing,” Neill said earlier this month. “And I would say not only is he aware of it, but he’s built for it. Like, he’s frickin’ built for it. And he knows he is. He’s built to be a franchise quarterback, and he doesn’t take that lightly.”

That awareness includes his medicals, as well as the borderline bizarre situation when coach Sean Payton began commenting on them. Nix has also been examined by Dr. Nicholas Strasser, and ankle specialist who consults for the Nashville Predators of the NFL, who said that Nix should be “certainly concerned” about the long-term effects of Nix’s ankle fractures, but Strasser didn’t see any issues with the quarterback’s short-term ramp up. 

“As being a guy that’s very mobile and relies on his legs to be a significant part of his game, that always kind of adds another question to it,” said Strasser. “I think I’m overall optimistic that he’ll be able to get back to things … right now I’m not hearing anything that would make me super concerned.”

Neill has incorporated all of this into his work with Nix, who waned to generate more torque and quickn his release. The two men have talked on and off throughout the offseason, and Neill described what’s been involved. 

“He was able to do a lot of that work, and throw, even if he was taking his time off his foot and still kinda working his motion,” Neill said. “He just probably couldn’t get to like, full-speed drops and stuff as fast as he wanted to. But we really weren’t set to do a ton of those anyway.”

The QB coach also mentioned how Nix will adjust to scrambling given that it’s a vital part of his game. 

“I honestly think he trusts it,” Neill said when asked if he felt Nix would change his scrambling habits to protect his ankle. “He trusts his body. He trusts the work that he’s done. And I don’t see it affecting him really at all, to be honest with you.”