ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Bo Nix insists he'll be the same dual-threat quarterback he was before breaking his right ankle in the playoffs and missing the AFC championship game.
The Denver Broncos signal-caller said a simple misstep led to a clean break and required a straightforward fix.
He said the injury was “nothing that concerns me, nothing that scares me going forward like I'm injury-prone or anything. This is one of those just inconvenient football plays and I'm excited already to get back to work. I can't necessarily avoid anything in the future, but I feel really good that my body's going to be in good shape.”
Speaking on a conference call Wednesday, Nix said he was going to take some time off anyway after the season, so his recovery and rehab over the next several weeks won’t necessarily impede his offseason training.
Nix also clarified two things about his injury. He said it was independent of previous ankle issues he dealt with in high school and college; and he said what made his injury inevitable wasn't a predisposition — as coach Sean Payton described it a day earlier — but a developing stress fracture that gave way to a full break.
Durability has never been an issue with Nix.
“I'd probably say four years, probably over 60 games straight of me getting to play and not missing games,” Nix said. “So, I don't really worry about the durability. Honestly, with a simple break like this I'll feel as good as new, won't have any hiccups even getting back going with training.
“I was going to give myself some time off anyway and this sort of makes me take that time off work, won't be able to scratch the itch and get back out there too early,” Nix added. “This will slow me down, make sure I'm taking my rest. ... I'm still going to be running around.”
Indeed, Nix was cruising around team headquarters this week on his medical scooter so he could say his goodbyes to teammates and coaches.
Nix said the injury “won't affect my training, won't affect my season next year. If anything, it'll just allow me to go out there and play more free knowing hey, there's nothing you can do about” freak injuries.
Backup Jarrett Stidham replaced Nix on Sunday and he committed a series of blunders, including a fumble at his own 12 that led to the Patriots' only touchdown and helped New England advance to the Super Bowl.
Sitting out the game “was terrible,” Nix said. “It was very helpless. Wasn’t much I could do about it. It’s tough to see when you go down, the show just keeps right on going. I think that’s the toughest part. ... It was a bummer. It was tough. It was a tough week.”
Nix watched the game from a suite at Empower Field at Mile High after returning from Birmingham, Alabama, where Dr. Norman E. Waldrop III, a foot and ankle specialist at the Andrews Sports Medicine and Orthopedic Center, operated on his ankle.
He called the operation “a very quick procedure, very easy operation, just a simple bone break. Got that fixed up. Great surgeon. Great care. And just right back on my road to recovery, a typical bone break, four to six weeks, I’ll be back training.”
In his first public comments since getting hurt, Nix also said he didn't realize the extent of his injury right away. Before going for X-rays, he was celebrating Denver's 33-30 win on Wil Lutz's field goal to cap a drive fueled by Ja'Quan McMillian's interception of Josh Allen's deep pass.
Nix said he was crushed to learn his season was over.
“You go that long and you play that many games and you have that big of a season and then it kind of comes to and end abruptly like that, it stinks,” Nix said.
But, he added, “my sights are already on nest year and how I can be better and lead this team better and play better. I'm just excited for the offseason work and to get back to the physical part of training.”
Nix has led the Broncos to back-to-back playoff appearances and tied Russell Wilson's NFL record with 24 regular-season wins in his first two years.
His early success has made his position coach, former NFL QB Davis Webb, who just turned 31, a hot coaching candidate. Webb has interviewed for the Las Vegas Raiders' head coaching job. Should he stay in Denver, there's speculation he'll get a bigger role, maybe even taking over play-calling duties from Sean Payton, who fired his longtime right-hand man and offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi on Tuesday.
“Davis is a tremendous coach,” Nix said. “He really knows how to communicate with his players. ... I think highly of him. I know he's a really good football coach and I know he's got a lot in store for him in the future.”
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