The Denver Broncos showed that QB Bo Nix is healthy, so he "probably" won't be playing tomorrow night against Vikings.
Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton talked about playing his starter into the third quarter after Denver’s 33-13 blowout loss to the Green Bay Packers last week, but cooler heads have apparently prevailed to talk Payton down from the ledge, with a report from Parker Gabriel of the Denver Post saying Nix will “probably not” play tomorrow night against the Minnesota Vikings in Denver’s final preseason game.
This isn’t exactly unexpected, as it would be beyond risky to play Nix in this game with nothing at stake. The goal going into preseason games was to get Nix on the field, and he did far more than that against Green Bay in the two series he led.
Nix went 6-for-9 for 73 yards and a touchdown pass in his brief cameo, and it confirmed reports that Nix is mobile and healthy as he executed multiple rollouts and throws on the run.
Payton may be reluctant to praise his starting QB, but new offensive coordinator Davis Webb wasn’t.
“I thought he did a really good job,” Webb said. “Like we kind of talked about, getting back to those feels. He handled that really well. He was really efficient, a good communicator in the huddle, in and out, was accurate with the football. I think there’s one play he would like to have back, but through two drives and almost being — what was that, eight or nine months since the last time he’s played? It was pretty good.”
Payton did comment on Denver’s backup QB situation, saying he hasn’t decided yet whether Jarrett Stidham or Sam Ehlinger will get the nod, even though Stidham has outplayed Ehlinger by a wide margin so far.
“If there were, like, eight roster questions, that’s one of the eight when you’re building your roster,” Payton said of the decision on two or three quarterbacks to make the initial cut.
Several starters will be on the field, but likely not for long, according to Gabriel. He mentioned linebacker Drew Sanders as one player who could see action, although Sanders has been mostly hurt for quite a while now and is basically just trying to lock up a roster spot.
“There’s a few guys like that,” Payton said. “(Michael Bandy) has been (out). Every camp, and you can’t control it, but there’s some players that just haven’t got the amount of reps that maybe you’d like and, hopefully — we’ll see what this Friday is.
“It’s not unlike any other camp, it just changes who the players are.”
Plenty of unfamiliar names will likely be on the field after the first quarter, as this game will probably turn into the usual festival of backups despite Payton’s bold stance last week.
