After starting the first 36 games, including playoff games, of his NFL career, Nix was unable to play in the AFC title game after breaking his ankle on the final drive of Denver’s 33-30 overtime win over the Bills. It was in the third last play of the game, but he kept playing.
“It was just a simple step with the foot in the air,” Nix said. “My body weight went down on it. It kind of got twisted. Went out of there pretty quickly. I think that’s a good part of being an athlete, sometimes your body gets out of worse situations. So it could have been a worse landing but all the power went to the only place it could and it was one of those mistakes.”
Nix subsequently underwent successful surgery, and NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport reported on Jan. 25 that Nix is likely to return by minicamp (the first or second week of June), though it appears he is on an earlier track.
“Just a simple fracture,” he said. “Right on the road to my recovery so a typical fracture, four to six weeks, will be back training, ready to roll. You hear a lot of different weeks and speculation out there but … I’ll actually be able to start training again at the same time I was going to start training. So don’t miss any time there.”
“I’m excited for this preseason. The way it ended, it was definitely quick, it’s definitely not how you want it to end but looking at next year and how I can be better and how I can lead this team better and play better. I’m excited about the work in the offseason.”
Nix, 25, was the 12th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.He has quarterbacked Denver in the playoffs in each of his two seasons. In 2025, he completed 388 passes on an NFL-high 612 pass attempts for 3,931 yards, 25 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
Based on the quarterback, he should be good for Year 3 as the reigning AFC West champions aim to defend their title and contend for the Super Bowl once again.