Sean Payton provides update on Bo Nix’s timeline for return

In the past two weeks, news broke that Bo Nix had to have a second surgery on the ankle that kept him out of the AFC Championship Game. On Saturday, the Broncos tried to put a positive spin on that revelation about their quarterback.

“The follow-up procedure was not a surprise,” Sean Payton told the media gathered for rookie minicamp. “We had five other players that staged surgeries, where there’s a step, they evaluate and then there’s a second step. He was the sixth that went through that.”

But the team isn’t worried. Nor were they caught off guard.

“No surprises,” Payton continued. “We feel really good about where he’s at.”

That wasn’t the message that the team delivered in their end-of-season press conferences, however. Back then, Nix was expected to be ready for all of the teams offseason workouts. Now, it looks like that won’t be the case.

“Sometimes after the initial surgery, it doesn’t require a second one,” Payton explained. “Back in February, the intention was, because we’re starting in June, I think I’m going to be a week-and-a-half, maybe two weeks off.”

That’ll mean that Nix will miss some of the team’s offseason program.

Sean Payton indicated Bo Nix will probably be held back til minicamp in mid-June. And then sounds like limited.

— MikeKlis9NEWS (@mikeklis9news) May 9, 2026

When will the third-year QB be back on the field? It sounds like he’ll be ready for the most-important activities.

“Clearly, (he’ll be) full speed by training camp,” Payton added. “If it were up to him, it’d be earlier. But we’re going to be smart.”

That means that the Broncos will go through some of their offseason program – a time in which they’ll be working a new star receiver (Jaylen Waddle) into the mix, as well as a new offensive coordinator / play caller (Davis Webb) – without their starting quarterback.

It’s not ideal. But based on Sean Payton’s comments on Saturday, it’s not an unexpected twist to the story.

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