Bo Nix wants to make one thing abundantly clear about his ankle injury — it was not inevitable.
One day after Broncos head coach Sean Payton said the quarterback is “predisposed” to an ankle injury — like the fracture he suffered in the divisional round of the playoffs, Nix pushed back on that characterization.
“Nothing predisposed, nothing that was there originally,” Nix said of the season-ending injury. “That might have gotten confused. 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.”
Payton spoke with the media on Tuesday, two days after Denver’s season ended with a 10-7 loss to the Patriots in the AFC Championship game. The head coach said it became evident after Nix’s procedure in Alabama last week that the signal-caller was going to have an injury like this at some point in his career. He had already suffered ankle injuries in both high school and college.
“What was found was a condition that was predisposed — they always find a little more when they go in,” Payton said. “It wasn’t a matter of if, it was a matter of when. When you look at the play and you’re trying to evaluate it — the operating surgeon said that this was going to happen sooner than later.”
The Denver Post reported Thursday that doctors saw pre-existing stress on Nix’s bone but that there was no concern for any chronic issues.
Nix, while wishing his coach hadn’t disclosed his past injuries, did say he feels like he’s on a good path to recovery and should have a recovery period of four to six weeks.
“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,” Nix added. “But it’s going to be good to get back, get back to work. … Nothing really that concerns me, nothing that scares me moving forward.”
Nix injured his ankle late in an overtime win against the Bills and was replaced by backup Jarrett Stidham in Sunday’s home loss.
Stidham threw for just 133 yards with one touchdown and an interception in what became a defensive battle as snowy conditions made life tough on both offenses.
“You go down, the show just keeps right on going,” Nix said of not being able to play for a chance to reach the Super Bowl. “That’s the toughest part. You feel like you’ve got a little [fear of missing out]. You just miss being out there.”
