\u201cNothing predisposed, nothing that was there originally,\u201d said Nix, who took questions for the first time since breaking his ankle Jan. 17 in a playoff win over the Bills. \u201cThat might\u2019ve gotten confused.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nix, 25, has had multiple previous operations on his ankles dating back to high school, including a broken ankle while playing at Auburn in 2021<\/a>. Broncos head coach Sean Payton said Tuesday he thought a doctor found \u201ca condition that was, like, predisposed\u201d when evaluating Nix\u2019s ankle.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere, they always find a little bit more when they go in,\u201d Payton said Tuesday. \u201cAnd it wasn\u2019t a matter of \u2018if,\u2019 it was a matter of \u2018when.\u2019 So it wasn\u2019t \u2014 because when you look at the play, and you\u2019re trying to evaluate it, the doctor, operating surgeon said, \u2018Oh, this was going to happen sooner than later.’\u201d<\/p>\n Another source with knowledge of the situation, though, told The Denver Post that Payton was referring to previously-existing stress on the bone that doctors discovered on Nix\u2019s ankle in the course of the operation \u2014 no chronic or long-suffering condition. Nix explained Wednesday that his body weight came down on his ankle on the overtime play when he suffered the break against Buffalo,<\/a> and his lower half got \u201ctwisted up.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think all that force went into the only place it could, and it was just one of those missteps,\u201d Nix said. \u201cDidn\u2019t have any predisposed issues.\u201d<\/p>\n On the conference call, a reporter incorrectly posited that Payton told the media that Nix had told him he\u2019d had three previous ankle surgeries. Payton previously told reporters after the 33-30 win over Buffalo that Nix told him he\u2019d had two \u2014 one in high school, and one in Auburn \u2014 and joked to reporters that he wouldn\u2019t have drafted Nix if he\u2019d known that.<\/p>\n \u201cHe doesn\u2019t really even know that,\u201d Nix said of Payton. \u201cBut I think it\u2019s going to be good to get back, get to work, start from ground zero. Work from the bottom up, get back to training. And nothing really that concerns me, nothing that scares me going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n Earlier Wednesday, Broncos owner Greg Penner reiterated Nix\u2019s sentiment, saying that he had \u201czero concern\u201d over Nix\u2019s long-term health and his surgery was \u201cstraightforward.\u201d<\/p>\n Nix said it was a \u201ctypical bone break\u201d that would rule him out for four to six weeks, putting him back well in time to return for the Broncos\u2019 organized team activities in May<\/a>. The quarterback said, too, that he was already planning to take roughly that same amount of time off before starting his offseason training, and therefore wouldn\u2019t actually miss any time due to the operation.<\/p>\n \u201cMy sights are already on next year, and how I can be better, and how I can lead this team better,\u201d Nix said.<\/p>\n The second-year quarterback threw for 3,931 yards and 25 touchdowns against 11 interceptions in 2025, leading the NFL in game-winning drives with seven. He threw for 279 yards and three touchdowns in the AFC divisional-round win over the Bills, before the stunning revelation that he fractured his ankle on the Broncos\u2019 final drive of overtime.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just a bummer,\u201d Nix said Wednesday. \u201cIt\u2019s crushing. It\u2019s defeating.\u201d<\/p>\n The confusion around his long-term ankle health \u2014 Payton\u2019s use of the term \u201cpredisposed\u201d \u2014 will become highly relevant to Nix\u2019s status as the face of the franchise entering his third season, coming off a berth in the AFC title game. Players and Denver\u2019s front office are well aware of a three-year window across the remainder of Nix\u2019s rookie contract before the Broncos would need to shell out big money for a long-term extension<\/a>. Any issues with Nix\u2019s long-term health could force the Broncos to reevaluate him as their true quarterback of the future.<\/p>\n Nix shrugged off any questions about his durability, noting that he hasn\u2019t missed a game since that 2021 ankle injury at Auburn.<\/p>\n The quarterback watched Sunday\u2019s season-ending loss to the Patriots from a suite at Empower Field, and called the experience of not being on the field \u201cterrible.\u201d Still, Nix put on a positive tone as he heads into an extended stretch of rehabilitation.<\/p>\n \u201cI think all adversity is good,\u201d Nix said. \u201cAll adversity sort of tests you, and challenges you, and puts you in a different spot. And I think, for me, it\u2019s just going to make playing in one of these games that much more special.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Denver](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/TDP-L-BRONCOS-CHIEFS_JAC9496.jpg\")
Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) gets a block from RJ Harvey (12) while scrambling away from Kansas City Chiefs safety Jaden Hicks (21) at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri on Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025. (Photo by Andy Cross\/The Denver Post)<\/p>\n