Bo Nix is heading into this season with more than just the usual quarterback pressure hanging over him. After breaking his ankle last season, the Denver Broncos quarterback has been working to get his mobility back while also trying to stay on schedule for a return to the field.
That process has taken him from Alabama to Denver, where he’s been training with quarterback coach Ben Neill. Neill, who works with QB Country, said Nix has kept the work moving while also keeping his trademark dry humor intact.
“I was talking about, ‘Man, you’re probably excited to throw those to (Jaylen) Waddle,'” Neill said in a recent piece written by Luca Evans of the Denver Post. “And he’s like, ‘Yeah, I might have to get it out a little earlier. That guy walks fast.'”
Neill said Nix understands exactly what comes with being in this spot. In his view, the Broncos quarterback is not only aware of the pressure and responsibility, but built for it.
“He’s very aware of the stakes, and the sacrifice, and the responsibility that comes with all the things they’re doing,” Neill said earlier this month. “And I would say not only is he aware of it, but he’s built for it.
Like, he’s frickin’ built for it. And he knows he is.
He’s built to be a franchise quarterback, and he doesn’t take that lightly.”
Nix’s recovery has also drawn medical attention, including a look from Dr. Nicholas Strasser, an ankle specialist who consults for the Nashville Predators of the NFL. Strasser said Nix should be “certainly concerned” about the long-term effects of the ankle fractures, but he did not sound alarmed about the quarterback’s short-term progress.
“As being a guy that’s very mobile and relies on his legs to be a significant part of his game, that always kind of adds another question to it,” said Strasser. “I think I’m overall optimistic that he’ll be able to get back to things … right now I’m not hearing anything that would make me super concerned.”
Neill said that reality has shaped the work he and Nix have done this offseason. Nix wanted to build more torque and quicken his release, and the two have stayed in touch throughout the offseason as they worked through that plan.
“He was able to do a lot of that work, and throw, even if he was taking his time off his foot and still kinda working his motion,” Neill said. “He just probably couldn’t get to like, full-speed drops and stuff as fast as he wanted to. But we really weren’t set to do a ton of those anyway.”
Neill also said he does not expect the injury to change how Nix runs when plays break down.
“I honestly think he trusts it,” Neill said when asked if he felt Nix would change his scrambling habits to protect his ankle. “He trusts his body.
He trusts the work that he’s done. And I don’t see it affecting him really at all, to be honest with you.”
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