Bo Nix keeps hearing the same message from Sean Payton: be more aggressive, trust it, and let the ball go.
That’s been easier said than done for a Broncos offense that has yet to find a steady rhythm. Nix is averaging just 5.8 yards per attempt this season, a mark that ranks 28th in the league, and he said the key to becoming more comfortable attacking downfield starts with conviction and preparation.
“I think when a coach says ‘let it rip,’ it means trust what you see,” Nix said, via Mike Klis of 9News. “Right now, there’s just a little subtle piece of overall offensive execution that we’re still working towards, because at times, it’s there and we’re really good. At times, for whatever reason, the drive stalls.”
Nix also pointed to the work that has to happen before a quarterback can really open things up.
“I think there’s a lot of pieces that go into it, but you’re right, letting it rip is one of the best things that you can do as a quarterback. At the same time, you’ve got to sort of earn that right. When you do the preparation, you earn the right to react so that you can let it rip.”
Out in Los Angeles, Quentin Johnston is a name that has started to surface in trade chatter. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler said the Chargers receiver has come up as a possible candidate in conversations with league sources, though his $18 million salary in 2027 on the fifth-year option could complicate any deal.
Even with the Chargers sitting at 0-5 and staring at a difficult stretch, Fowler said rival teams don’t expect them to start unloading players before the deadline. One executive told him: “I think it’s going to be really difficult for them to admit when and if they need to trade guys.”
Fowler also noted that there aren’t many obvious names on the market from other teams, either. Besides Johnston, he said OLB Khalil Mack and possibly S Derwin James would attract interest.
In Kansas City, Kenneth Walker’s early production has fit right into what Andy Reid expected. The Chiefs running back has piled up 537 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 87 carries, and Reid said the team already had a good feel for what Walker could do from his time with the Seahawks.
“Yeah, I would tell you not really because we thought he did well, especially when [the Seahawks] had to turn everything over to him during the playoffs,” Reid said, via ProFootballTalk. “So, we saw his whole game there, and now we’re just seeing it on an extended basis where he comes in and he’s been able to showcase all that.”
In Other News...
Chargers Have Reached A Justin Herbert Debate Nobody Wanted
An 0-5 start has pushed the Chargers into a place few around the league expected to see them, and it has dragged Justin Herbert into an uncomfortable conversation for a franchise built around him. His play has slipped, the offense has sputtered, and the broader picture has only sharpened the pressure on the coaching staff and the personnel choices around the quarterback.
There is no easy path through a downturn like this, especially when the teams most important player is the one under the brightest spotlight. Moving Herbert would be the kind of seismic decision that comes with huge risk, so the real question is more basic and more difficult: are the Chargers looking at a quarterback problem, or at everything orbiting the quarterback? [Read more 🡒]
Chargers Draw A Hard Line As Pressure Builds Everywhere Else
With the noise around the Chargers building from every direction, one line appears to be holding firm: Justin Herbert is not going anywhere. ESPNs Adam Schefter reported that the team has never discussed trading its quarterback, and the idea is not under consideration, a notable stance for a franchise trying to steady itself while Herbert works through a stretch of uneven play.
Herberts contract runs through 2029, and the full no-trade clause gives him major control over any such scenario anyway. So if the Chargers decide change is needed, the pressure is more likely to land on the coaching staff or the front office before it reaches the quarterback, which tells you where the real uncertainty in Los Angeles still sits. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Just Got Pulled Into A Dangerous Justin Herbert Debate
The latest round of quarterback chatter around Justin Herbert has taken a strange turn, with the Chargers star suddenly becoming the centerpiece of a what-if discussion that reaches all the way to Carolina. The speculation, driven by analysts Henry McKenna and Steven Ruiz, centers on the idea of what it would look like if Los Angeles ever had to seriously entertain moving Herbert, a conversation that naturally invites comparison with Bryce Young and the Panthers own quarterback situation.
Carolina only enters the conversation because of the sheer scale of a theoretical Herbert deal, and because any team looking to swing for a franchise quarterback would have to pay an enormous price. The framework being kicked around is the kind that would strip a roster of premium draft capital and more, which is why the whole debate feels more like a stress test for the Chargers than a real transaction watch. For now, there is no confirmed move, just an uncomfortable reminder of how quickly a league-wide rumor can pull another team into the middle of it. [Read more 🡒]