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The Denver Broncos are back on the football field for the first time since losing the AFC Championship Game to New England as Bo Nix watched from a suite with his surgically repaired right ankle in a cast.
Nix is still out after another procedure on his right ankle, but he was on the field Thursday and threw some passes, but mostly saw backups Jarrett Stidham and Sam Ehlinger incorporate offseason acquisition Jaylen Waddle into the offense.
“He’s had a good week,” coach Sean Payton said of Waddle, the speedy receiver the Broncos acquired in a trade with the Miami Dolphins this spring. “He’s somebody who picks things up really quickly. He had a really good day yesterday and you just feel his instincts and his quickness and his ability to not only run fast but also stop fast.”
Waddle is expected to work with Nix when the Broncos hold their minicamp in two weeks.
“I mean, you don’t see (Nix) before practice, but he’s been throwing, and I think in our third week … you’re going to see more of a role,” Payton said.
The Broncos were the last team to actually take the field during their offseason training program, which for them has consisted of indoor workouts until Tuesday, when they began football practices.
Before working on his chemistry with Nix, Waddle has developed a relationship with his No. 1 wide receiver counterpart, Courtland Sutton.
“Yeah, it’s been fun,” Sutton said. “Being able to watch him up close, he’s a special guy. … He’s got some qualities that only he can do. … He’s got tremendous speed. His speed and acceleration paired together is top-notch. His understanding of the offense, his understanding of the football … his run after the catch is top-notch.”
Waddle said he envisions him and Sutton providing a nice 1-2 punch.
“Courtland is an elite playmaker,” Waddle said. “Anytime you have an elite playmaker on the other end, it just makes it easy for the defense to look for and vice versa.”
While he’s eager to work with Nix on the court, it’s clear the two have already begun to develop chemistry.
“Bo is definitely a competitor, he loves to talk ball, he loves to be around the guys,” Waddle said. “I think he’s a great leader. I can just see moves from him day to day and if he sees something, he’ll tell me about it and then we’ll pick each other’s brains, try to get on the same page as best we can.”
Raise for Surtain
The Broncos gave star cornerback Pat Surtain II a $5 million raise this season through a contract adjustment. Surtain can also earn an additional $5 million if he is an All-Pro or Pro Bowl selection. He is a two-time All-Pro and four-time Pro Bowler.
“He’s obviously somebody that we feel is elite and at the top of his position,” Payton said. “And part of that is the salary cap and how it fluctuates and moves, especially in the last three years.”
The Broncos are finally out of the record $85 million dead cap hit they incurred by releasing Russell Wilson, which allowed them to make moves like they did with Surtain.
“It feels good,” Payton said. “Look, it’s important. It’s hard to do it with dead money, and when you do it with a record amount, it’s a credit to everybody, the young players, the coaches, the scouts, and so I don’t know if anybody can feel it or see it, but certainly it exists when it comes to your budget.”
The ninth overall pick in the 2021 draft, Surtain has a dozen interceptions and 59 pass breakups in his five seasons as a pro.
Surtain is entering the first season of a four-year, $96 million extension he signed through 2024, which at the time made him the league’s highest-paid cornerback based on average annual salary. He has since been surpassed by Jaycee Horn, Trent McDuffie, Sauce Gardner, Derek Stingley Jr. and Jalen Ramsey.
Hard opening stretch
The Broncos open the season with a tough six-game stretch that begins with a game at Kansas City followed by five weeks of games against 2025 playoff teams, but Payton said he doesn’t believe the league was penalized.
Asked if he has upset anyone in the league office, Payton said, “No, that happened a long time ago.”
Payton was suspended for the entire 2012 NFL season due to his involvement in the New Orleans Saints’ “Bountygate” scandal.
After a visit to Kansas City, the Broncos host the Jacksonville Jaguars and Los Angeles Rams before visiting the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Chargers. Then they host the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks.
“We’ll see early on where we’re at,” Waddle said.
Report from the Associated Press.
