The next time Bo Nix takes the field will likely be in prime time Sept. 14 at Arrowhead Stadium.
Broncos head coach Sean Payton said Wednesday that his starting quarterback will “probably not” play Friday night against Minnesota in Denver’s preseason finale.
Payton said the coaches and front office personnel are meeting again Wednesday night to finalize the roles for players in Friday nightap game and wasn’t willing to go through the entire roster or indicate whether other starters will play.
That means Nix’s total game time ahead of Denver’s season opener at Kansas City will be the 14 snaps he played last week against Green Bay. Nix went 6-of-9 passing for 73 yards and a 21-yard touchdown to running back RJ Harvey. His two possessions ended in the touchdown and a field goal in his first game action since fracturing his right ankle Jan. 17 against Buffalo in the playoffs.
“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.”
With Nix set to watch from the sideline, Jarrett Stidham is likely to start Friday night against the Vikings, a source told The Post. Sam Ehlinger, however, is in line to play extensively and could end up playing well over half the game, depending on how the early work for Stidham unfolds.
In 2024, Nix didn’t play in the team’s preseason finale after Payton named him the team’s starter going into his rookie year. Stidham played 10 snaps early and then gave way to Zach Wilson, who shined over a 54-snap outing. Then Payton and the Broncos kept all three quarterbacks on the active roster at the cutdown and made Stidham the No. 2 to Nix.
Last year, Nix didn’t play in Denver’s second preseason game after consecutive weeks of joint practices, but he did see 21 snaps in the finale against New Orleans. After that, Ehlinger got 58. The Broncos cut him at the roster deadline, but knew he’d start the season on the practice squad. He was back on the 53-man roster less than a week later.
Payton said the team has not made a decision yet on who will serve as Nix’s primary backup during the regular season this fall or if both Stidham and Ehlinger will make the initial 53-man roster when the cutdown deadline arrives Sunday afternoon.
“If there were, like, eight roster questions, thatap 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.
Elsewhere on the roster, if starting players do play, it likely will not be for long.
There are several interesting players to watch, however. One example among many: Oft-injured outside linebacker Drew Sanders had a sack in the preseason game but then hasn’t practiced since and didn’t play against Green Bay.
Asked about him on Wednesday, Payton didn’t rule out Sanders seeing time against the Vikings.
“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.
“Itap not unlike any other camp, it just changes who the players are.”
The Broncos are widely considered to boast one of the deeper rosters in football, which means they’re a likely target for teams to try to poach players off the waiver wire after teams must cut down to 53 on Sunday. Payton acknowledged that teams this week will sometimes try to hide a player or try to inflate a player’s stats to either keep other teams off the scent or perhaps entice somebody to offer something in a trade.
For players who may be on the bubble, the goal should be simple, according to veteran wide receiver Courtland Sutton.
“Every day is an opportunity to go out there and put something good on film,” Sutton said. … “Coach says it a lot, you’re not only auditioning for the Denver Broncos, you’re auditioning for 31 other teams. You literally never know where an opportunity will arise. We had a couple guys last year that didn’t make the team here in our (wide receivers) room that got picked up by other programs. Coach always says, don’t worry about the room. Don’t worry about the numbers in the room. … If you’re putting good stuff on film, people are going to come ask about you, whether it be here or somewhere else.”
Payton indicated the three players who have been signed to the roster this week — outside linebacker Ron Stone Jr., offensive tackle Foster Sarell and defensive lineman Israel Antwine — will all play against the Vikings.
“Itap added depth that can help take the workload off,” Payton said. “Itap hard to go into this game and just say, hey, these 40 aren’t playing. Then the stress level on everybody else kicks up. So itap a challenge going into this last game and we’ll have a good plan.”
