Bo Nix Explains the Real Story Behind His Second Ankle Procedure

Bo Nix's return to the practice field was the top story of the Denver Broncos' first day of mandatory minicamp. Nix missed the Broncos' six voluntary OTA practices after he decided to undergo a clean-up procedure in April, which set his return timetable back by a few weeks.

Nix fractured his ankle on the third-to-last play of the Broncos' wild 33-30 overtime playoff win over the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round, undergoing surgery almost immediately afterward to repair it. We learned on Tuesday that painful bone spurs were the reason Nix opted to go back under the knife for a quick clean-up months later.

“[I had] the first [operation] obviously right after the season. Non-weight-bearing for a couple of weeks, get back going," Nix said after Tuesday's practice. "[I] felt pretty good, was still having a little bit of an issue with bone spurs."

Nix could have kicked the can down the road on the bone spurs and lived with the pain, but since he was otherwise so far ahead of schedule in his recovery, he decided it would be best to bite the bullet now, which means he won't have to deal with it or worry about it when football season arrives.

"What we did was—even though I probably could’ve gone again and [played] the whole season again—it was just aggravating me for too long," Nix said. "So what we did was, since I was a little bit ahead, thought it best to go ahead and decompress it a little bit. Then [I] still had plenty of time to get back for the summer and to prepare for the season."

This is not only Nix's third offseason, but he now has 36 NFL games under his belt as a pro. He's an experienced veteran now, fully comfortable and confident in the scheme, so in the final analysis, when football season rolls around and Nix is throwing touchdowns and leading the Broncos to victories, nobody is going to remember that he missed some OTA practices or that he was limited in mandatory minicamp.

"[I] feel really good where I’m at," Nix said. "I’m actually sort of glad we got it all out of the way; [I] don’t have to do it in the years to come."

Abundance of Caution

Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) during mini camp at Broncos Park. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

In truth, Nix feels fully recovered. He could be a full go out there for minicamp, but the Broncos are playing safe with their franchise quarterback.

“Yes, I could go full go right now if they wanted me to," Nix said.

Can you blame the Broncos' abundance of caution? After all, despite having a roster stacked to the gills and an excellent coaching staff, the moment Nix went down in the playoffs, all of the Broncos' Super Bowl aspirations came to a screeching halt.

The Broncos held Drake Maye to well under 100 passing yards and the New England Patriots to just 10 points, but they could not get it done at home in the AFC championship game without Nix. That's why the team is in no hurry to get Nix back on the field.

What matters is Nix being available for the real prep work of training camp, which he will be. Sean Payton said on Tuesday that he expects Nix to be fully cleared by the end of June. From there, it's four weeks or so until training camp will kick off.

Fake News and Misconceptions

Nix's health status was the storyline around the Mile High City through the long months of the offseason. It came with no shortage of fake news and images that even created some misconceptions around town.

“I think it’s funny. [No.] 1, no one has ever really cared about me this extensively for a long time, so I don’t think it’s a bad thing," Nix said with a laugh. "I have little kids at the park asking me if my legs are crooked and all that. I think it’s sort of crazy we live in a culture where you get secondhand sources, and you just run with them and believe them.”

Welcome to the internet, Bo. The rise of AI has only intensified the fake news and memes, especially on Facebook, which has become a cesspool for such garbage.

The Takeaway

In all seriousness, though, it was great to see Nix back out on the field and taking the podium again after practice. After six months of not hearing from him publicly, he had quite a lot to say, much of which we haven't covered and analzyed yet, but we will.

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