Sean Payton Addresses Whether Broncos Will Play Starters vs. 49ers

Later this week, the Denver Broncos will travel to the Bay Area to hold a joint practice with the San Francisco 49ers. That'll be on Thursday, and two days later, the Broncos and Niners will cross swords in the first preseason game of the summer for the two clubs.

For weeks, Broncos Country has been dying to know whether Bo Nix and the starters will see any playing time in preseason Game 1 vs. the Niners. Following Monday's practice at Broncos Park Powered by CommonSpirt, head coach Sean Payton ended the suspense.

When asked whether he plans to rest those players who'll garner a lot of reps during this week's practices at home and in California in the preseason game, Payton shot the notion down, making it clear that the starters are going to play.

“Not so much. There’s this feeling that, ‘Oh, if I practice them a bunch, then I’m not going to play them in the game,''' Payton said. "We’re playing guys in the game.”

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Payton: “We’re playing guys (starters) in the game (vs SF).”
— MikeKlis9NEWS (@mikeklis9news) August 4, 2025

Payton may have stopped short of guaranteeing that Nix and the other first-teamers will play on Saturday in Santa Clara, CA, but it was clear what he meant. Last year, Nix was pitched in an open competition for the starting job at this point in the summer.

Being the veteran and the only incumbent quarterback, Jarrett Stidham started the first preseason game. He played 12 snaps, which accounted for 14% of the Broncos' offensive snaps.

Nix played 39 snaps (47%), but he's not competing for a job this time around. As the understood starter, Broncos Country can expect Nix to play at least one series, but if last year is any indication, he could get two or three.

Stidham was pulled after two possessions last year in preseason Game 1, and Nix took over from there. Former Broncos quarterback Zach Wilson stepped in and cleaned up the game with 32 snaps.

This year, it's Nix, Stidham, and newcomer Sam Ehlinger. Nix and the first-teamers will likely get a couple of possessions, depending on how it goes. If Nix comes in and leads the first-team offense to an opening touchdown, Payton might choose to sit him down. If it's a field goal or a punt, expect Nix to get at least one more series.

As for Thursday's joint practice, Payton and Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan will chat later this week to hash out the finer details of the game plan.

“We’ll meet. We travel Wednesday night. We’ll probably meet tomorrow night to discuss the roles," Payton said. "I’ll speak with Kyle between now and then. We’ve already got the format of the practice laid out. We’ve already got the itinerary laid out until next Tuesday."

Suffice it to say, the Broncos are ready to go against an outside opponent. Both teams will have a sense of relief and energy by practicing against each other on Thursday. By the time the game rolls around, it'll begin to feel like the rhythms of the football season once again.

At the end of the day, the preseason games are meant to give the entrenched starters enough play-time exposure to simulate the real thing and give the players battling for jobs and roster spots most of the rope. Payton and his coaching staff need to get as much of a sample size as possible with these roster battles.

Intraclub scrimmages and one-on-ones can paint part of the picture, but each player's portrait isn't complete without the preseason snaps serving as the finishing touches. It's not regular-season football, to be sure, but after seven months of inactivity, the preseason games are like manna from Football Heaven.

The preseason games don't count, but they do matter.

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