Broncos head coach Sean Payton and his staff opted to keep Bo Nix out of Denver’s preseason opener against the Falcons.

Published on: Aug 16, 2026, 07:50:01 IST

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The Denver Broncos opened their preseason campaign with a convincing 27-7 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Friday. However, quarterback Bo Nix was notably absent from the matchup.

With Denver’s next preseason game scheduled for Friday against the Green Bay Packers, questions now surround Nix’s availability and whether he is still dealing with an injury or was simply held out as a precaution.

Is Bo Nix still injured?

Broncos head coach Sean Payton and his staff opted to keep Bo Nix out of Denver’s preseason opener against the Falcons. Nix is still working his way back from a significant setback earlier this year.

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The quarterback fractured his right ankle during Denver’s playoff win over the Buffalo Bills in January, underwent surgery and later needed a follow-up cleanup procedure in April.

Despite sitting out Friday’s game, Nix did participate in a pregame workout and showed no obvious signs of lingering trouble, providing an encouraging indication ahead of his expected return to game action.

The 26-year-old has also been a full participant throughout training camp without any restrictions.

Will Nix play the next game vs Packers?

"Bo won't play in this game; he'll play next week," Payton had said earlier this week as reported by ESPN. "If we were playing a [regular-season] game — he wants to play; he'll play the next two weeks," the coach had mentioned.

Payton did not point to the playing surface as a factor behind the decision to rest Nix.

However, Mercedes-Benz Stadium hosted World Cup matches on grass this summer but uses artificial turf for Falcons games, while Denver plays its home contests on natural grass at Empower Field at Mile High.

Nix builds on breakout seasons

Nix is heading into his third NFL season after helping the Broncos post a 14-3 record and win the AFC West in 2025. His development will be closely watched as Denver looks to build on back-to-back playoff appearances.

As a rookie in 2024, Nix appeared in all 17 games and completed 66.3% of his passes for 3,775 yards, 29 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He also added 430 rushing yards and four touchdowns.

His numbers remained productive in 2025, when the 26-year-old threw for 3,931 yards, 25 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while completing 63.4% of his attempts. He contributed another 356 rushing yards and five scores on the ground.

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