Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos could be tempted to upgrade their options in the quarterback room before the start of the 2026 NFL season, it has been claimed.
The Broncos were a game away from the Super Bowl last season but their hopes of making football’s showpiece game were derailed when starting quarterback Bo Nix broke his ankle in the final minutes of their divisional round win over the Buffalo Bills.
It led to backup Jarrett Stidham taking Nix’s place for the AFC Championship game against the New England Patriots, which the Broncos lost 10-7 to Mike Vrabel’s team.
Nix had ankle surgery and is expected to be ready for the start of the new season but according to ESPN, the situation might have left head coach Payton contemplating upgrading his backups.
That could lead him back to his former team, the New Orleans Saints, and their No. 2 quarterback in Spencer Rattler.
He is in competition at the Saints for the backup role with Zach Wilson and ESPN have said that if he is the odd man out, his NFL experience presents an interesting option to teams across the league.
Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix is recovering from ankle surgery earlier this year
His team have been tipped to upgrade their backup options with a move for Spencer Rattler
Rattler, 25, has 14 starts to his name, although 13 of those are losses.
Broncos starter Nix has had ankle trouble in the past – and he was unhappy with head coach Payton discussing it so openly after their season ended with the Patriots loss.
Payton said that Nix’s history of ankle issues meant an injury of this calibre was actually destined to happen sooner or later, saying it was not ‘a matter of if, it was a matter of when’.
The quarterback had a fractured ankle in high school and needed ankle surgery before in his rookie year with the Broncos.
Payton said this latest procedure ‘found a condition that was predisposed – they always find a little more when they go in.’
But Payton’s comments irked Nix, who moved to defiantly set the record straight.
‘I don’t think he really should share how many surgeries I’ve had in the past, to be honest with you, he doesn’t even really know that,’ the quarterback said, as per ESPN.
He explained of his surgery, carried out in Birmingham, Alabama: ‘Nothing predisposed, nothing that was there originally.
Nix was unhappy when coach Sean Payton discussed his history of injuries after his surgery
‘That might have gotten confused. (The injury was) just a simple step with my foot up in the air, my body weight came down on it, sort of got twisted up.
‘It could have been a worse landing, but I think all that force went into the only place it could.’
The Broncos start the season with an enthralling AFC West Monday night football showdown against the Kansas City Chiefs – who have their quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, recovering from surgery on a torn ACL.
