The road to Super Bowl LXI in Southern California begins now.
Or, at least for the Broncos, the 2026 offseason program kicks off Monday.
This is in many ways the start of the long march toward September and the start of the season, though players and coaches still have a five-week break to look forward to this summer.
Denver head coach Sean Payton decided to start this spring’s program later than usual and later than everybody else in the NFL, citing a Broncos 2025 season that lasted until late January.
Payton is also a longtime believer that running and lifting are more important this time of year than getting on the field for football-related activities.
So, players start the voluntary part of the offseason program Monday, but outside of a rookie minicamp May 8-10, Denver will abstain from on-field work until the first week of June.
“All of May will just be weightlifting,” Payton said earlier this year. “You’ll see us on the field in June. We’ll have two weeks of OTAs and a week of mini camp, but I don’t want them to feel like they were just here.”
Payton has also said in the past that he doesn’t want his players feeling like they’re going to football practice in the spring.
Still, Monday morning will feature the Broncos’ first 2026 team meeting, the first messaging about starting over and building toward a title run this fall. It’ll feel like the start of something in the building.
With that in mind, here are four questions about the coming months in apountry.
When will Broncos QB Bo Nix be back in action?
The likely answer now: Not for a while. Nix will likely still be around for Phases 1 and 2 of the offseason program over the next several weeks, but he’ll be rehabbing from the recent clean-up procedure on his surgically repaired right ankle rather than doing the full lifting and running regimen his teammates will be on.
OTAs and minicamp are still a month-plus away, but from here, sources expected Payton and Denver’s medical and training staffs to be cautious with Nix through those weeks. The start of training camp is still nearly three months away. Having Nix back to full go then is the new priority for the staff.
There is still no clear understanding of what the recent procedure entailed for Nix, but sources indicate the cleanup work was going to have to happen at some point — if not now, then likely after the 2026 season. Nix’s rehab from the initial fracture repair in January went well enough that Dr. Norman Waldrop III, Nix and the Broncos decided they had a window to get it done now. It will cost Nix most of the early stages of the offseason program, but in return, he enters the year without the prospect of another procedure hanging out there somewhere on the horizon.
Could Denver add a veteran free agent of note?
Itap always a possibility.
Denver signed RB J.K. Dobbins in June last year. In 2023, the club signed OLB Frank Clark around the same time.
For a time, the Broncos looked like they could perhaps use a veteran defensive lineman. Then they used their top draft pick, No. 66 overall, on Tyler Onyedim. There’s a long way to go to late August, but right now Denver looks like it could again easily take seven defensive linemen into the season: Zach Allen, D.J. Jones, Malcolm Roach, Eyioma Uwazurike, Onyedim, Sai’Vion Jones and Jordan Jackson.
If there’s a spot to add a Dobbins-esque veteran, what about outside linebacker and what about Cam Jordan? The 37-year-old has a decade of history with Sean Payton, he’s still playing well even after 15 years in the NFL and, while the Broncos are by no means short at outside linebacker, they don’t have huge numbers there after sliding Jonah Elliss inside. Now, Denver’s top line is among the best in the business with Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper. The club is high on Que Robinson and Dondrea Tillman provides quality depth. Denver could always kick Elliss back outside if it needed. But Jordan had 10.5 sacks a year ago and, critically, is hardly a situational pass-rusher. He’s still a force against the run and could be used creatively both on third down and early downs. The Broncos have one of his biggest fans in Payton and also a New Orleans native in Vance Joseph as their defensive coordinator.
Are there any big contract extensions on the table?
Not like last year, where the Broncos had a laundry list of mega deals to do with cornerstone players like Courtland Sutton, Allen and Nik Bonitto.
The biggest decision to make is in the secondary, where nickel Ja’Quan McMillian and corner Riley Moss are each entering contract years and 2025 first-round pick Jahdae Barron is waiting in the wings.
Other starters and key players entering the final years of their contracts include safety Brandon Jones, left guard Ben Powers, receiver Marvin Mims Jr. and tight end Evan Engram.
Overall, there’s far less certainty about who from that group will end up in Denver long term than there was a year ago, when it seemed all but certain that the big three would get deals done eventually.
Denver typically has done offseason extensions closer to training camp (Quinn Meinerz in 2024) or during (all three last year and Pat Surtain II in 2024) rather than in the spring.
What else is on the spring cleaning list at Broncos Park?
A handful of other projects. Now that the NFL draft is in the rearview mirror, an extension for general manager George Paton moves closer to the batter’s box. CEO and owner Greg Penner has made it clear Paton’s wanted long-term and has essentially said a deal is a matter of when, not if. Most front office movement of all kinds comes after the draft and into the summer. On a related note, Paton’s front office is highly regarded and has been raided repeatedly over the past two offseasons, so more movement on that front cannot be ruled out.
Denver also has a major move ahead in June, when the club relocates from its current headquarters to its new building across the practice fields, which is nearing completion.
