Sean Payton says Broncos starters will play Friday, Bo Nix might not

The Broncos' coach Sean Payton said that most of the team's starters will play Friday in Atlanta during their first preseason game, Bo Nix is still a question

BY JAKE SHAPIRO

Aug 10, 2026, 1:28 PM

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Sean Payton is one of those old-school coaches who believes in toughening his guys up ahead of the season instead of putting them in bubble wrap — no surprise, given his history with Bill Parcells.

The Denver Broncos head coach said most of the team’s starters will play Friday in Atlanta during their first preseason game and they’ll get more reps the following week when the Mile High City welcomes the Packers.

“They’ll play but we haven’t gone through the roles,” Payton said. “I’ll let you know when we go through the roles.”

When asked about Bo Nix’s status for the coming exhibition, Payton reiterated that he wasn’t sure who exactly was going to play and who was going to sit but that the idea is most starters would play.

“I think it’s hard to replicate it, and every year everyone talks about it, and you have to build a callus,” Payton said. “I just believe in that. And now there’s some (players) maybe based on injury or where they’re at, we might hold back, but you know generally we’re going to want to play them (the starters) some in the first game, a little bit more in the second, and then we’ll see where we’re at in the third.”

Nix, who broke his right ankle in January during the Broncos’ divisional round playoff win against the Buffalo Bills, has been a full participant in training camp since Day 1 and has not appeared limited. He underwent surgery shortly after the injury and had a follow-up cleanup procedure in April before returning to the field on a limited basis in June. Nix said last week that he feels “great” and is actually ahead of where he was at the same point a year ago.

Asked if he’ll play on Friday, Nix said he has “No idea.”

Getting Nix onto the turf in Atlanta just seven months after a fractured ankle is a consideration for a coaching staff with its eyes on a deep playoff run. Nix has played in two preseason games in each of his two years in the NFL, but the calculus is different now with a franchise quarterback recovering from a significant injury.

“I’m excited,” Nix said. “I think preseason is always a great time to get back out there and you know get your feet wet a little bit and see defenses be in a live situation before the first game.”

If Nix sits Friday, backup Jarrett Stidham would be the logical first quarterback onto the field at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, just as he started in the AFC Championship Game. But because that outing was so bad for the veteran quarterback, Sam Ehlinger has made it a competition for that job.

Other starters like J.K. Dobbins, who was hurt on Monday, or Courtland Sutton, who has sat a bunch of days at camp, may be candidates to rest through Friday’s affair.

The preseason opener against the Falcons is set for Friday at 5 p.m. MT, with the broadcast on Denver7 and streaming on NFL+.

The Broncos’ regular-season opener is Sept. 14 at Kansas City on Monday Night Football.