Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - BRONCOS SQUAD SHOW: How Concerned Should Broncos Country Be About Bo Nix Ankle?

Episode Date: May 1, 2026

News broke this week that Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix underwent a second procedure on his ankle. Nix infamously was unable to play in the AFC Championship game due to the ankle injury he sustained vs. the Buffalo Bills in the Divisional round of the playoffs. Nix should be on track to participate in training camp, but his availability in the early offseason program is now in doubt. Join Aniello Piro, Cody Roark, Sayre Bedinger and Nick Ferguson as they break down the latest news and notes in the world of Broncos football. Everydayer Club If you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans. Click here to learn more and join your team’s community: https://lockedonpodcasts.com/everydayerclub Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! FanDuel Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now new customers can bet just five dollars and get one-hundred and fifty dollars in bonus bets if your first bet wins. Visit https://FANDUEL.COM to get started — Play Your Game. Indeed Listeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at http://Indeed.com/podcast. Rugiet Get 15% off your treatment → https://rugiet.com/lockedonnfl Rugiet. Performance medicine for men. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

I'm Anilo Piro, and while there maybe is a little bit of a concern with Bo Nixon his ankle, I think the Denver sports fan should be more concerned about the Denver Nuggets. I'm Cody Rourke. I'm more concerned about the Denver Nuggets laying an egg than I am Bo Nix's ankle. I don't even know how to follow that. I'm Sarah Benninger and the deeper we, you know what? I'm going to tell you about my favorite new blanket on this show today. Come on, everybody.

I'm Nick Ferguson and I'm just here for the jokes. Oh, well, there'll be plenty of jokes on today's Locked-on Broncos Squad show. Let's get into it, gentlemen. Let's go. From the South stands, it's the Broncos squad, everything Denver Broncos every week. Covering all the big hits and game-changing plays from the Mile High City, the way only the Locked-on podcast network can. Gear up and squad up.

The Bronco squad show starts now. What is going on? Bronco country. Hope everyone is doing well out there. Happy Friday. Happy first of the month. Look at this picture. It's Nicola Yolkic.

Oh. Well, you think Nicola's back in Serbia yet? I hope so, man. Brother, get on the plane. We've got horses. Yeah. Oh, my gosh. I know it's a Bronco show,

but I'm sure we'll have some, we'll air some grievances. about the Denver Nuggets as well throughout the course of the program after they absolutely lay an egg and have their season come to a miserable close last night against the Minnesota Timberwolves. But we'll also talk a little Bo Nix. We'll have that conversation as that news came out this week. We've got the full squad here today. And Neil O'Piro, could he work, say, Bedinger and Nick Ferguson.

Do its favor guys, hit that like button, smash that subscribe button. Helps us out here on the channel. Bellas, how we live in? What's up? Well, you know, thank goodness the ads are still going. Thank goodness Broncos football is around the corner because the Nuggets just ripped the heart out of every Denver sports fan because they couldn't show up because they got a weasel head coach who simply just doesn't motivate his players.

And I commented this before. I can't say it how I said it on Instagram. But David Adelman could not inspire a fart to be poop. That's one thing he couldn't do, man. that is just crazy look just i want to bro i want to say i love cody talking nuggets because like obviously cody covers the broncos right so you got to kind of keep it a little bit more formal but you guys are getting the true cody work experience right now when it comes to chop it up about the denver nuggets so i love the unfiltered nature could you imagine if cody

said that about the broncos no he probably has we just don't know it uh nathaniel hackett era I definitely said that. Josh McDaniels definitely said that. I don't think I said it much in the Vic Fangio era, to be honest with you. The Vic Fangio. Adelman and Nathaniel Hackett in the room and what kind of conversation is taking place there. I mean, how is that going to sound? What's that going to look like?

The paint would never dry. You know what's crazy? As bad as Adelman was in the playoffs and as terrible as Hackett was, I think Adelman is a far superior coach to Nathaniel Hackett. I really do. Like, at least Adeline got this team to 54 wins in a playoff appearance. I don't think he did it. All right.

I think it was the. But he was the steward of the ship. Like, what did Hackett do? No, he was a yes man. Adam and was like, good job, Yoker.

We love it. Like, no, it's like, no, we're not doing this. Yeah, that's just like saying Adam Gays was an offensive genius.

In 2013. I mean, come on now. That's actually, that's a really good comp because part of the reason why they moved on from Michael Malone and Adelman was kind of harolded as like this offensive mastermind. Like he's the one who created the offense around Nicola Yokic, right? And then he gets elevated to Ed Coach and they can't score 100 points in any of their three games against the Minnesota Terwolds. Adam Gage goes to New York. You know how that.

That's actually, that's the comp right there, Nick. You should stamp that on social media. That's an excellent cop. You might have just made a back right there. I just want to know if Cody has had his coffee and if he has, what the hell is in it? Because he is ultra grumpy today. I'm not grumpy.

I'm just fired up, man. I'm, you know, I did. I'm not going to see. I'm not. It's not a brick house over here. But man,

I'm ready to rock and roll, man. Let's get going. I saw something to it. I'm trying to find it. Oh, yeah. Somebody said David Adelman looks like the guy from the Tiger King documentary.

Oh, my God. I saw that, dude. He don't. I can't unsee it. That's hilarious. I can't unsee it. No, I'm ready to rock and roll. I had a good workout this morning, you know, got the protein in.

We're ready. I mean, it's Friday, Friday. Got to get down on Friday. Let's have fun, fellows. And everybody else is all doom and gloom. You know, I'm mad about the nuggets. But in life, I'm not doom and gloom. I saw something today on Twitter.

It absolutely made me laugh. Somebody, you know, the social media, and we'll get on track here. I promise Broncos country. We'll get on track here. in just a second. But there's these random accounts that you stumble upon. Somebody was like,

it was on Twitter. It was at cow in crisis. It's a picture of a cow. It says, horse is always clopping. Just walk normally. And then it says like a vulgar word idiots. And then the horse account quote tweets it with some vulgarities.

Brother. There's stuff that makes me laugh. I don't know. I might be in the minority here. Sometimes I just need a, I need a scroll because the world is just too angry. I thought you were going to talk about it. I thought you were going to talk about it.

this J.P. Morgan's story that came out earlier this week. Oh, no, no, no, no, no. That's a crazy one. Oh, my gosh. The internet, man, wild times, wild times. But Sarah, it sounds like you got a good night's sleep last night. Yeah, I, I, the last couple nights, I've gotten a really good night's sleep. And this is not a, maybe they will sponsor the show at some point because this would be

incredible for your experience. But it's this thing called the mellow sleep comforter. And it's like the best of both. worlds, right? So one side of this comforter is like a plush, like soft, warm, you know, comforter. And the other side of it is like a silk. It's not a temperature controlled comforter. And yet it stays cool all night. So it's like when you roll over after you've been in one spot on the bed for a long time and then you cool yourself off, it's like that on top, but all the time. And so like I was just, I was in a cocoon of just absolute like serenity and bliss this morning. I was up before.

6 a.m. today and it sucked because I could have stayed I could have slept until a neel slept. I mean, I could have just kept going. So I don't know what kind of witchcraft and wizardry is involved in making some of these things anymore. I don't know how my wife finds these things. And yet I am so excited to have it. It's one of the best parts I would say of being married is the things that my wife finds that I would never look for. And then go up in my life that I'm like, wait, what is this comforter? Like, I didn't know you were changing the bed spread and all that stuff. And now I'm like, just, I've gone to the next level of sleep.

I enjoyed it very much. So, so Sarah, what's your sleep number? I don't know. I need to figure that out because I don't wear anything when I sleep. I don't. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Whoa, hold on. Wait a minute.

I asked about your sleep number. I don't know what that is. I thought, you don't see the deck press. I'm thinking, I'm thinking about sleep score. I'm like, I don't know what my sleep number is. I don't know what my sleep number is. I don't know. This just went off the rails.

You know what? This is why this show was invented. So we could just have, you know, we're serious all the time in our respective jobs. And obviously, regular lockdown. We're super, you know, buttoned up to the point. It's fun to kind of have some laid backness. We'll get to the Bronco stuff. But, man, I can't believe Sarah said that.

Someone's got to clip that. If you have a chance, please clip that. That was a... My heart is for... What a... So now, is sleep number going to be a euphemism for sleeping butt-negut? Is that what it is? Well, hey, I mean, no, that's not my style.

I mean, you know, that's not my... I'm never, I'm never commando, guys. I mean, I might be... I might have my quirks, but never commando. So, yeah, I mean, Michael's trying to get us back on track the chat. He's like, talk Broncos, please. Yeah, let's, how about them Broncos, guys? You know who is getting some good sleep despite everybody else probably not getting good sleep

over it? Bo Nix. Bo Nix is doing great. You know, the number of thing to recovery in healing is sleep. That's one of the best things you could do is rest. That man is, you know, and let's talk about that because obviously I think everybody this week was freaking out, Bolognax has another procedure. Oh my gosh. Not the end of the world. Like I told Sarah, I said it's not a problem until it is. Everyone wants to freak out about it. I can tell you from what I know, from what I have been told from some people close to Bo, that is not the case.

Bow is going to be just fine. This was nothing major, anything like that. I think there's just a lot of panic that's going on in this fan base. And I understand. And the unknown is scary. It could be a little scary. Well, so is that unknown that you are speaking of named Jared Stidham? Because I think that's probably the reason for some of the freak out,

of Broncos country because they're saying, well, if Bo is somehow slow due to a foot injury, who's the guy in waiting? We saw what Jarrett Stidham, you know, showed us and we know what he is. I mean, no disrespect to him, but he's a bona fide backup. This is why I think Sam Ellinger needs to have more reps and the team needs to put more develop into him because I think if you want a true backup, I think he can be that guy. Possibly. I just don't know.

like stylistically, can you find some, I felt like the best potential backup for a guy like Bo would have been Zach Wilson. I felt like Zach would have been the perfect backup to Bo. But, you know, we'll see. I mean, there's going to obviously be a competition between Sam and Jared. We'll see what happens throughout training camp in the preseason. You know, certain things do pop up from time to time with other teams. And yeah, but one thing I know that we can finally close the door on too, because I've already

seen some people already talking about it. Aaron Rogers is not coming to Denver. that he's not the type of player that Denver would bring in in this situation. It goes against every single thing that they have said as an organization that they believe for the locker room. They're not going to bring anybody into the locker room that's going to be parsing. You think Sean and Aaron are going to get along? Come on. Why? Why?

You know what I could see. It's interesting to think about because speaking of Zach Wilson, he signed with the New Orleans Saints this offseason. You know who the Broncos liked right behind Bo Nix in that 2024 draft class that they were, I think, primed to take in the second round if they had not been able to get Bo Nix in the first round was Spencer Rattler. So, I mean, at some point in time, whether it's as a backup beyond this year, because Jared Stidham, Sam Ellinger, are both free agents after this season as well. Maybe Spencer Rattler finds his way to Denver at some point. Maybe we're a year ahead of that discussion, but if the Broncos do need somebody at some point, like let's say it is worst case scenario with Bo, which none of us is really anticipating right now. But I would say, I mean, trading for Spencer Rattler would be something that I could see as an option

because he offers you multiple years on the contract. He's a young guy. The Broncos liked him in the draft. And he started a number of games. And he's obviously not a finished product right now. So that'd be the option that I would say stands out to me if they actually have to do go out and get somebody at some point, which obviously right now we don't necessarily anticipate. Well, I think it's a good point.

And I think that's the proper way to frame the conversation because I tend to agree with Cody. I don't think this is anything to sound the alarms about when it comes to Bo Nix and the ankle injury. It's interesting. And we'll kind of dive into why maybe it's a bit of a concern. But I think at the end of the day, we all agree like, Bo should be okay for the regular season, which is really what matters more than anything. But like, that begs the question of like, do you shore up your backup quarterback in

case Bo Nix does miss some regular season games, in case this ankle continues to flare up for Bo Nix. I think Rattler is an interesting name. Obviously, we know what happened with Zach Wilson. I think James is still out there. Isn't he? Is he a free agent, James? No, he's still with the Giants. Is he okay? He's still with the Giants. I mean, what? Teddy Bridgewater is only like 33 years old if you want to go down that route again, obviously. So I think I would like to see the Broncos address backup quarterback and maybe just try to shore that up a little bit because I think like I'm listening to some fans and I see the 10.

takes on sports talk radio and social media about like especially for your guys why what my guys say your guys say a lot of stuff my friend oh yeah I heard about your guys oh my god I think one of your guys and I'm maybe it's something about me be uh getting rid of Nicola yokes for the Denver nuggets oh what yeah the takes oh come on like you know look at his face he knows that ain't me bro that ain't me maybe it's guilty by association but I ain't in this stuff. I did have the Broncos winning 10 games, so there's some egg on my face from last year. But listen, man, no one could have predicted that the Broncos would perform the way that they did. I gave them 10 wins with the possibility of winning 11 to start a season. No way in hell did I think that they would end up hosting a

playoff game, being a number one C, and going 14 and 3. Now, if anyone want to tell me that they did that, please show me the receipts. I did actually a couple of my people did I'm not going to lie really I'm not going to lie I had a 14 and 3 yes I swear to God oh wow I got to see these receipts yeah I swear oh you said 14 and three I thought you meant to having like more wins than they did last year I heck last year boe bo's rookie year I called it I Nilo you were even there I went on the record saying in training camp there's a video of it out there I think the broco is with bow because they're probably going to get better quarterback played what they had last year they're going to win

10 games. Everyone was commenting crazy. And you know what? I had so much fun going back at the end of the year and being like, this you? This you? You sure? Like, I don't know. I got like, I feel a sense of conviction now just being around. Like, and I feel like that is different. Like when I was covering the team and I was not around the team, I feel like it's hard at times to, I don't know, find like a good spot to be like, okay, I've got a really good gauge and a really good feel. Being around the team, I feel like now seeing them, seeing them at practice, I feel like I have a pretty good gauge on like how I think they will do what they'll achieve. I didn't see them winning necessarily 14. That was a huge surprise. I didn't see them going and

winning 11 straight games in a row. That was marvelous after they started off the way that they did one and two to begin the year through the first three weeks. The turner was great. And I think that's, you know, valuable for this team in terms of roster building. Those guys, getting that experience knowing and very much, I'd say embracing, hey, we got to look at this one week at a time. We can't jump so far ahead. You know, we're here in week four. We can't look ahead and knowing we got a tough stretch beginning week 10 through week 13. We can't look that far ahead.

That, I think, is the maturity of this roster in general. And this roster, Sarah and I were talking about it earlier this week on the show, today's show, actually, that this is a loaded roster. This is a roster that on paper, you look at the addition to Jaylon Walser. You look at the additions they made in the draft with Jonah Coleman, Justin Jolie, etc. Maybe down in Bentley, throw them in there possibly. This is a offense that should be one of the most improved offenses in the league this year, at least on paper. Yeah, I'm with you. I'm with you.

Because we've got to hit a break here in a couple of minutes, but I do want to just circle back to the back of quarterback conversation because, again, like you don't want to, it's breaking case of emergency, right? And I think that Bo Nix is going to be fine. But like, let's just assume for the sake of conversation that Bo has to be. to miss a game here, a game there, or something happened to the middle of the season with the ankle or something else. Do you guys feel confident enough in the tandem of Stidham and Ellinger? Or would you like to see the Broncos go out there and maybe try to bring in somebody else? It would have to be someone that knows the system or is a very smart process because we know that's the most

Sean's offense is very complicated, very complex. But is it still Sean's offense? Yes, it is. And Davis is going to be calling it. I agree. I agree. but how does Davis influence it? Yeah, I mean, Davis is going to have his own sprinkle

in terms of how he calls it, but Sean's going to be in charge of like, hey, these are the things we're running. Like, you have to run this. And he's got to call and he's got to execute all that within the system, within the scheme, the structure of Sean's offense. I mean, I think if Beau were to go down with an injury, you have to hope and pray your run game's good, right?

Theoretically, we're hoping that's the case. But we did see the limitations. at least from an athleticism standpoint, you know, that Bo made other pieces around him look really good in times of chaos where it wasn't necessarily like that in aFC championship game. So I don't know, was that a product of, you know, you only get one week to prepare essentially at this point? Or is that more of a, you know, this is who Jared Stidham is.

I mean, maybe it's somewhere in the middle here. This is who he is. And this, come on, man, let's not beat around the bush. He showed us who he is. You've been in this offense for a couple of years. You backed up Russell Wilson. The team gave you starts once they bench Russell Wilson. And we still saw Jared being the same Jared just to back up quarterback.

So with that being said, if you had the breaking case of emergency, I would just roll with Sam Ellinger and then I would bring in Teddy Bridgewater. Here's why. Because you have a guy who excelled in this offense, even though he is somewhat of an older player, he did it well. in New Orleans under Sean Payton. So Sean knows that while his skill set may not be the highest of all quarterbacks, but you know he can run the offense,

but more importantly, he can help out Sam, right? Hell, that's what Davis Webb is as a backup quarterback in this league, who's now scheduled to be a signal caller for the Denver Broncos, maybe 40% of the time. So that's what I would do because running it back with Stedham, it seems as though there's a sense of security because he's been here for a,

while, but we saw what he was. And we could say, well, he was put in a tough situation. Hell, this is not an amateur sport. This is the NFL, man. You get paid to do this stuff. Teddy won't be an option, though, unfortunately for Denver. Why? He's the Detroit line. He signed a one-year contract with him. And they love him there. Can't trade for him? I mean, I don't think Denver would trade for a backup. Doesn't it feel like a lose-lose situation, though? Like, if you, if If you treat for somebody, it's over. Right. Exactly.

There's really no. Yeah, that's, and that's exactly it, right? So I think this is the perception part of that whole conversation then is like, if you trade for somebody now or before training camp, everybody's, like if you think everybody's in panic mode now, think about if the Broncos trade for a quarterback or sign a veteran quarterback.

It's like a, you know, notable player who can start for you. if need be like breaking case of emergency like we're talking about the optics of bringing somebody in especially trading for somebody now would say from the organization like all right this could be bad or like we're we're believing that the worst is at least possible and if you don't do that then you find yourself caught you know in a very brutal situation in if indeed you do end up needing that player when you had an opportunity to go out and get them and you did it and you sat on your

or you didn't draft somebody late or you know you didn't trade for somebody like when it when nobody would have really noticed right like during the draft and say hey this guy became available like it just feels like no matter if they're proactive or reactive it's a lose lose situation because of the optics of whatever that would mean yeah yeah i think you're spot on with that i do and it's just it's a fascinating situation i think you know my desk is made out of wood will all knock on wood that nothing ends up happening here with Bo Nix. But it's an interesting conversation to have to say the least. All right, let's hit a quick break.

When we come back, let's continue along with the conversation. How did we get here with Bo Nix? And what's the expectation of the timeline for him moving forward? All that more when we come back right here on your lockdown Broncos squad show. All right, you guys, real quick. Let me see about our friends over at Fanduil because the NBA playoffs are here. Even though the Nuggets aren't in it anymore, which sucks.

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All right, welcome on back in two. the program. It is your Locked-on Broncos squad show. Got the whole crew here today. And Ely Lepiro, Cody works here, Benager, Nick Ferguson. We'll continue talking about Bo Nix, the ankle, the timeline, and all that kind of stuff. But Cody, why don't you go ahead and let the good people know about the

Everyday Air Club? Yeah, folks, you just want a chance to get some extra content. You want an ad-free version of the show. Yes, ad-free version of the show. The Lock-on Everydayer Club is for you. You get access to our Discord community where you can talk with other members of Broncos country. You can ruin the sorrows. That is the, the Nuggets season over in the locked on Nuggets feed as well with us. I've been over there here today. More importantly, you get a daily newsletter version of the show.

And on top of that, you also get access to all 22 film breakdowns, some of the Broncos rookies. And in season, that's really where the film studies, they go up 10fold. You get one on offense, defense, biggest play, defining moment, you name it. We'll break it all down. So it's a great way to experience a little bit more than what you get here on your regular version of the show. Yeah, definitely recommend it for the Broncos and the Nuggets.

I'm good friends with Matt Moore, Ryan Blackburn, and Swipe a Cambe. They do a great job on the Nuggets Feed. And obviously, Cody, you and Sarah do an excellent job here for Broncos country as well. Okay, let's get back to unless you got something to say. No, I was going to say, Sarah, yesterday, I didn't notice this while we were recording, but people were talking about it in the comments, and it made me laugh because I don't know if it's intentional because actually it's funny. It kind of makes sense. You said something about Bo next to you're like, Boe next to you're like, Bo is the stir,

straws the drink. I don't know that was like, but that honestly, like, think about it, Bo is the stir. I have, I have been doing too many spoonerisms, man. I've been doing way too many spoonerisms. I'm just absolutely the stir that straws the drink. That's so funny. That's how you know you're getting old when you like say stuff and, and you're like, no, I didn't say that. I definitely said the straw that stirs the drink and, you know, no, I still think, I still think it's a clever play on words like he is the stir that I like it if you like it I like it I and the listeners like it yeah I want to do more of it so I'll make sure that my brain is just constantly on

spoonerism mode or moonerism spode for those who enjoy a good spoonerism and and we'll just keep rocking with it sounds like a guy that has kids that's what that sounds like to me seriously yeah exactly that's exactly what it is you know and by the way guys that was one of the coolest wins I don't think I got to share with you, but one of the coolest things I posted it on Twitter is this was the first time my kids ever showed any sort of interest in the NFL draft at all. It was funny on the first, second day of the draft. I can't remember which one, but my son came down from his room and he was waiting for the Broncos to pick. I think it was the first pick, the Tyler O'Neadden

pick. And he was like, hey, have the Broncos picked yet? How the Broncos picked yet? And he came down and finally, like, he saw the pick happen in real time. And he was watching the highlights that they show on NFL network. And he's like, Dad, this guy is so good. Like, this guy's going to absolutely crush Patrick Mahomes.

And I'm like, all right, we're finally cooking with gas now with my kids, you know, enjoying the picks and enjoying the draft. And his favorite selection, though, was Jonah Coleman because when they play the highlights of Jonah Coleman,

he's like, dad, that's the ankle breaker. That guy, he's good. And I'm like, yeah, you're right.

He is. He's going to be great. So that was fun. One aspect of the draft. That's a W. Guys, there's something very unique. about, you know, Jonah Coleman.

And I know that he wasn't a first rounder, but we've seen that, you know, the running back position get the value over the years. But people have found ways to kind of be more productive with those guys. Let's not forget when Albuquerque came out of Tennessee, he was drafted in the third round by John Peyton. And he ended up, you know, I mean,

he still is extraordinary running back, especially catching a ball out of the backfield, which has me to believe that when you get to, think about the running back room as a whole and the fact that the Broncos have, you know, selected two running backs and back to back years, you have to figure that Jonah Coleman will have an opportunity to be RB1. I know it sounds ridiculous to some people, but he might have that chance to be RB1. Now, we know that Sean runs a very complex system, but maybe with Davis Webb having a little input, maybe the verbiage is a lot better where the younger players can kind of get in the

grew right away. And if that happens, I'm going to predict that Jonah Coleman is going to make a major impact this season. Do you take, are you going with like RB1 this year or is that like eventually? Well, I said eventually. Now, obviously he won't start off that way because he's got to learn the system. Yeah. But he has every attribute you want to be a running back in this league, even though I know, you know, he's what, five, eight, 220 pounds. You know, he's not a Derek Henry size. But when you just look at what he brings to the table. I think he has a potential to maybe by, you know, week six, week seven, really challenged for that RB one position.

I think he's easily projecting to be the most impactful rookie of all the guys they drafted. Like maybe one of the tight ends as well, Joe Lee. Like I think just knowing the nature of the running back position, though, you would think that Jonah Coleman's going to get opportunities, assuming he picks up the playbook in training camp and in the early weeks of the season like that. I know we kind of spent like a long time leading up to the draft, but like, they're not going to draft any impact players in year one, but like Jonah Coleman actually has the opportunity to do that.

starters, right. But who's to say like, you know, we're talking about health and J.K. Dobbins. And again, knock on wood. But if Dobbins goes down, I mean, R.J. Harvey's only a year removed from his rookie season. Like, who's to say that Jonah Coleman can't assert himself by week 11 or 12? God forbid something happens to Dobbins. I think that's the projected vision for Jonah is to play. Like, if something happens to JK, it's going to be Jonah going to that role versus RJ.

because then RJ became something he really wasn't last year, where his role is kind of this move around Camara-like chess piece, not saying, we're not saying the J word. He's got his wings, but we're not saying it. We're the move-around guy. He shined in that role more so than when he had to become the top dog, right? That was a little bit more. There's more added to his plate.

There's more you have to learn of the offense. Whereas when it was JK and it was RJ, man, they played so well off one another. Now you bring in a guy and Jonah Coleman, who's a bigger guy who could probably absorb. more contact, carry on a little bit more of a heavier load, and you get to keep RJ in that role where Sean can move them around. And I think they can get really creative. Like I'm talking about three-back pistol where you got,

you might even have two tight ends. You might have Evan Ingram, Justin Jolie, on one side of Bo Nix, while he's back behind the center. And then behind Bo and those guys, you've got Jonah Coleman, R.J. Harvey or J.K. Davens. And the stuff that you can do with those two guys becoming lead blockers, those guys can outlet into the flat, they can run routes out of the backfield, and then you got your running back. Like, you can do some creative stuff.

We saw Denver kind of experiment with the pistol a little bit last year, but it wasn't something they did too much of. I think we're going to see a lot more pistol this year for Denver, which excites me. It's got me feeling nicey. Cody, I don't know what nice he is. You know, like Gruden grinder? I have no idea what's nice to be,

and maybe that has something to do with something in your cup, but I like where you're going with it because I'm thinking about Troy Aikman, before he went to UCLA, he played at Oklahoma, and they ran that wing team backfield. And we know that we've seen that college football where a lot of college, but not a lot of college team, but Army, Navy, and the Air Force run these types of plays. Not saying that it has to be your major offense,

but to throw out an option every now and again. I mean, think about how that would just kind of dismantle the NFL defense is because most people don't. prepare for it. Here's an option that I like too. And as you guys are talking, it's getting me dreaming up a little bit here. But the idea, I guess more so in terms of not the formations, but in terms of the overall usage, like what if the Jonah Coleman vision in terms of his instant impact is really

to keep J.K. Dobbins on a pitch count and still keep defenses off balance with what the Broncos are trying to throw at them when he's on the field? because ultimately when Tyler Badee came on the field, we've talked about it many times that shoot, like everybody knows what the Broncos are running when Tyler Bade is on the field, they're throwing the ball. And when Jonah Coleman's out there,

that's not necessarily going to be the case. And so I know Sean has said it's easier to use two backs than three, but what if there's, you know, like J.K. Dobbins is the, uh, the Jekyll and, you know, Jonah Coleman is the hide. And then you've got R.J. Harvey, who's kind of a different character in the whole story, because ultimately you don't want,

jk dobbins wearing down i don't think we want jk daubbins carrying the ball 30 times a game in the first eight weeks of the season because ultimately the more times he's carrying the ball the more risk you take of him getting hurt that's just the that's a reality for any NFL player not just jk daubbins so what if the broncos want to limit the amount of times that jk's getting the ball or what if they want to start off the game with him out there and they want him out there to finish in the four minute drill or the two minute whatever it may be that was part of the problem with this team playing so many one-score games last year, as they weren't able to run the ball late in games.

They weren't able to wear teams down in the second half. And that's where I think Jonah Coleman can make the biggest impact is, well, we got to be careful with J.K. Dobbins, but we don't necessarily have somebody else to do that with. So we have to go to J.K. Dobbins. But now Jonah Coleman can be that guy to say, hey, we need to grind out, we need a third and two conversion right here. We got to have it.

And this is our guy who can come do it. So maybe he helps in that way. Nick, somebody pointed out in the comments, too, that they think that Jonah Coleman could be the next Mike Anderson. I'm interested in your thoughts on that because Mike obviously was an interesting, you know, he was a late round pick. And he was somebody that came in and played well above his draft status immediately. Even over, I think he and Tatum Bell came in similar or roughly similar times. So what do you say to that comparison between Jonah Coleman and Mike Anderson? I think that's interesting.

Yeah, I think it's a great comparison, but it kind of leans on an idea that whomever is calling plays, you have to really lean on your run get. And that's the one thing that, you know, Mike Shanahan did when I played, when I coached in San Francisco, you know, that's what Kyle did. And you look at anyone who comes from the Mike Shanahan tree, their ideas that you run the ball to pass the ball. There are certain coordinators in this league that think that you pass the ball to run the ball. And Mike really believed in a running back position. He never devalu that because he used play action. And what that means is that in order for the Broncos to do that, we need to see Bow under center more than we see him in shotgun.

And I know for a lot of quarterbacks, they want to be able to see the field. They want to be able to know where the blitz is coming from. But when you're under center, I can tell you, defensively, we have no idea what you're going to do. We don't know into the ball of snap. And to me, I think that gives Bo an opportunity because some of the criticism I've heard from Bo over the years from guys who play the quarterback position, they talk about his decision making, but more importantly, his footwork. And when you sit in a shotgun for a long period of time, your footwork suffers because you don't have to go through the three-step, five-step rees.

You don't have to really go through the motions of the poke fake. And what I mean by the poke-fake, that is the fake that you give when you're running play action. but the more you put him under center is going to speed up his development as a quarterback. So I'm hoping that, you know, with the influence of David's Webb, we see more, Bo. Maybe, you know, it changes from game to game, but we need to see him more in the center. Yeah, no, I think it's a good point. And ultimately, we'll have to see how it all kind of shakes out. I'm sure we'll get some hints about that in training camp.

And, of course, when we get to the preseason and the regular season alike. Let's hit a quick break. When we come back, let's continue along with the conversation, kind of a state of the Denver Broncos following the latest news about Bo Nix and, of course, hitting on their draft class. All that more when we come back right here on your lockdown Broncos squad show. All right, back in on your lockdown Broncos squad show. Happy Friday everyone at Neil O'Kirokuddy, War, Sarah Bedinger, and Nick Ferguson,

hanging out with you here. It is May, one step closer to the start of the offseason program for the Denver Broncos, which will kick in on Monday. It'll be, you know, minicamp, OTAs, training camp before you know, at preseason games before you know. And of course, right back into the grind that is the regular season. Playoffs. Playoffs. Super Bowl. There we go.

Playoffs. I'm excited, man. I've been missing. I can't lie. Like, obviously, like, Cody, like you and Nick as well, like, you guys are, we're all at the stadium for the Broncos home games. We're like, kind of miss just like waking up, flipping on the Red Zone, you know, watching all the different games. I'm like, I'm itching for football. Like, I owe him, but now more than ever, I'm like, I'm missing that right now. So you just get a flip on Red Zone.

I have to watch Red Zone at the stadium. Well, you get to the stadium like 14 hours before the game. Yeah. If you're early, you're on time. If you're on time, you're late. Like, you know, some people get there right where the game kicks off. Yeah. Like I like to be there early.

You never know what could happen. So it's like I got my computer set up. I have everything all, you know, outline there. And then, you know, then we just have the adventures that we do throughout the course of a game day. And then the squad shows. I'm excited to do the post game squad shows again, you know, because we do something on Tuesday. do something on Friday.

It'll go back to Tuesdays and then Sunday nights. Yeah. So when did we start that like middle of the year? Like I remember us doing out for the commanders team. Because I was at Disney. It must have been Houston. Houston or Vegas one of those two games. Yeah, that sounds about it.

I remember it fondly, guys, I do. It's a core memory for me when the squad show started. I wasn't even here for it. Houston, Atlanta, Vegas. There we go. Yeah, no. I'm looking forward to a full season of squad shows. And it's going to be awesome.

I mean, this is just such an, an interesting year for the Denver Broncos just relative to expectation, right? Because I think we all expected the Broncos to be really good. I personally didn't have him at 14 wins in an AFC championship game. And now how do they kind of deal with, I guess you could label it as pressure, right? Because the expectation from the fan base now is what? Get back to at least an AFC championship game. Get to a Super Bowl.

Like there's really, there's only two more steps you could possibly take. Wow. Broncos ended up last year. Just winning the playoffs. That's the thing. And look, I think even after the draft, you know, the Broncos, they had a couple, you even George Peyton talked about it. You know, kind of looking at where they were at last year, right, with the 14 wins.

I mean, they even acknowledged, hey, like, winning 14 games last year wasn't easy this year to win 14 games is going to be even more difficult because Denver is going to be playing, at least on paper, their opponents are going to be drastically tougher. The stretches, I'm curious to see, you know, when they play certain teams where, what's the toughest part of the schedule? Is it the first half middle or is it toward the end of the season? What's defining, like the schedule release is coming out here soon? so I know we're going to be breaking that down.

That'll be a fun reaction to kind of do. But to win 14 games this year is going to be hard. And it may not happen. But I think double-digit wins should be the standard here for this team right now. I think that's realistic. I think, and I probably speak for Nick here, like when it comes to the Broncos this upcoming season is you want to see some style points, right? Because we saw the Broncos come from behind time and time and time again.

And it was great, right? You won 11 in a row. I mean, Jacksonville was probably their worst loss of the season. if I could think off the top of my head. Colts. Yeah, Colts was pretty. That was early. Yeah, that's what I was going to say. You know, but there was a lot of ugly wins.

I remember sitting in the press box with you, Cody, and they barely beat Tennessee. And it's like, what is going on with this team? And then obviously, in the season. Right, right. But it's like, it's interesting. Like, obviously, like the high points, beating the Cowboys the way they did Sunday night football against the commanders.

That was a huge win. Houston was interesting. The Jets was ugly. Beating the Chiefs was great. Yeah. But I wouldn't say, that, you know, I wouldn't say like the wins against the Eagles, the Chiefs. I don't feel like those were ugly wins.

You know, I feel like those were, hey, you've got to find, like to come back, score 19 unanswered in the fourth quarter to win against Philadelphia, the defense super bowl champions. That was what you want to see. And then that game where they did, I mean, the offense was struggling a little bit. And then in the third quarter, they got going against the Chiefs. And then you're backs against the wall, you got to drive down the field. Third and 15, Bo Nix finds Cortland Sutton for 20 yards. And all of a sudden, things are cooking.

And then Troy Franklin has to catch. Will Lutz, kicks the field goal. Down goes Patrick Mosz. And all without, by the way, Patrick Sertan the second in that game. Like, I would say the commander's game was probably the most frustrating game of the entire regular season. I would say just for how things were going. Like the offense was doing well here and there for the most part. But it's like, man, the defense can't even stop Marcus Mario da,

they couldn't stop Chris Rodriguez. They couldn't get a stop. And all of a sudden it's like, thank goodness for Nick Benito. Because the Broncos just seemingly did whatever they. could almost lose that game against Washington coming off the buy, which also led to the question, if you're going to the playoffs, could this team have a first round by? Like, they didn't play well coming off the by the last time.

It's like at the end of the day, I don't think it makes a big difference. I think sometimes like the flow, like what happens in the first two series of a game, impacts the flow of it, either for better or for worse. I'll say this, guys, the idea for the team this year shouldn't be double-digit wins. it should be a Super Bowl appearance. Because just think about where this team came from. They had missed so many playoff games and it was a playoff drought. And then in Bow's first year, even though they lose on the road, they're in the playoffs.

And then the second year, they're hosting a game. One game away from actually, or one field goal away from actually playing against the Seattle Seahawks. So that should be the standard. I mean, the standard has returned. It's not winning like 10, 12 games. No, man, you have to go to the Super Bowl because that's where this team is. And based on the move they made in the offseason, that's what we were told. The team is right there.

You're bringing guys back. I mean, they didn't have a first round pick for the obvious reason. They added Jalen Wado. They added some nice pieces. And then the idea is, man, it is Super Bowl a bus. Anything other than that, that is not the Broncos standard. and that's where this organization and one-pinner family, that's what they were trying to get back to.

Why do you think they got that behemate of a new practice facility? Right? They're not playing games. They're for real. Yeah. Well, let me ask you this, right? I think we all expect, and the expectation should always be competing for world championships.

Is it safe to say that, you know, winning a Super Bowl is the expectation right now until they do it, right? Is that the standard, a championship? Because I think ideally you look at every team in the NFL, the goal for every team is to win a championship. Denver has won three of them. They've appeared in many Super Bowls. Under this regime, do you feel like that should be the expectation for them right away? Like, should we be placing high standards?

This team must win the Super Bowl this year or else. Should we do that or should we wait until they actually get there? I think that they can. I think they're Super Bowl contenders. But I also think at the same time with that, and I understand this is going to sound really weird. and now I'm seeing it from the fans perspective right now. The goal is always win a championship, right? So if you don't do it, obviously the season failed.

So I don't even know where I'm going with it. I just, I don't know if I had like a mid-sentence lobotomy happened, but my God. I finally understand it a little bit. I would say at least get to the Super Bowl, because I think when you get there, it's kind of a rap shoot at that point. Like you, and obviously, like,

it'd be disappointing to lose the Super Bowl, but I think it's like being the, like, on the mountaintop of the AFC. like I just think it's a complete roll of the dice when you get to the Super Bowl because like that's where it's like I understand like people were frustrated about how the season in the last year they would have got dog walked by Seattle dog walked and how much better would you have felt if you got to I mean I guess you probably feel better because you got to a Super Bowl and you get all the attention for two weeks but like that's where it is to me it's let and I would agree with Nick I think it's less about 14 wins and it's more about

improving upon your postseason success which of course is getting to if not winning a Super Bowl next year do you know what I think is maybe a comparison that we can kind of look at here is, remember the 2012 Broncos team, the first year of patroning? They were, that was maybe the best team that's never won a, that didn't win a Super Bowl. I mean, in terms of Broncos history, other than the 2005 Broncos team, which I don't like to bring up.

Yeah, they did. They started, they beat the Steelers and then they lost, I think, two or three straight games and they were down to the Chargers. But then over the course of that season, they became like the most complete team in the NFL. And they lost four games. They struggled to get started.

They didn't always play well. But man, that team was like they were, they were good and they knew it. And I think they had all the pieces. They had the balance, but they won 12 games, right? So they still lost four games. You guys mentioned it. George Payton brought it up. It's going to be difficult for this team to repeat the success of 14 regular season wins,

but he still thinks that they can be a better team. And remember the 2013 Broncos, I believe, won 13 regular season games. And they were nowhere near the complete unit that that 2012 team was. I think the 2012 Broncos beat the 2013 Broncos. So I think what we're talking about here is this idea of, okay, last year's team won 14 games. The ball bounced their way in a number of one score games. I think we're going to see more blowouts this year to Anilo's point, more style points. I think we're going to see this team play much more complimentary football.

and we're going to take the next step with all these players who have been growing and establishing the foundation over the past few seasons. This year, I think they're going to take that next step. And I think they, yeah, they might win 12 games or whatever. It might be even 11 if you want to say they lose five. I mean, that's kind of what we're really talking about here is, is this Broncos team too good to lose five, six games? Because I would say, I mean, that's going to be tough to do with as good as they are

and how much depth they have. So it may not be a question of how. How many games can they actually win? But realistically, even with a tough schedule, every team's going to have a tough schedule. It's the NFL. And we never know if you're going to play Joe Burrow or Joe Blow with the Bengals. You know what I'm saying. You don't know what quarterbacks are going to even end up being on the schedule.

So I think that's the thing to me that's like, okay, how many games can this team realistically lose? Because I don't know if they're bad enough to lose that many games. Yeah. Well, and I mean, like, to that point, like best record doesn't always equate to success, right? Like you say the Patriots in that almost undefeated season. I mean, you look at hockey, right? A team that's won the President's trophy hasn't won a Stanley Cup since like 2012. The Dodgers have won some World Series in years past where they haven't been like the best form of themselves necessarily.

I mean, we've seen, you know, the Lakers and just other teams in the NBA, you know, that have, I guess that's the point is like you don't have to have the best record to automatically win a championship. Like the Broncos can win 12, 13, 11 games and still be right where they want to be and have an eye. opportunity to win a championship. And I think you're spot on there pointing to that Broncos Super Bowl, they won. And then obviously the 2012 compared to the 2014 team and everything else that goes along with that. So I think it's about staying healthy and building momentum. And I understand like the Colts, for example, like they were dealt the bad hand with their injuries. But like first 10 weeks of the season, it's Colts this, Colts that, right? And look at how their season ended up. It's less about where you end up record wise and more

where you end up momentum wise, at least in my opinion. And I think, just I I would say I think consistency, Darien points it out in the chat. Consistency is what I think we should all hope that this team finds at some point, you know, versus, you know, one week they look terrible. The next week they look terrible. Don't look consistently bad. Look consistently efficient. You know, you should, ideally, and this is the NFL.

This is why I think it's the greatest sport in the world because you could be playing the team with the worst record. And you might get their absolute best game. And, you know, people are like, well, they have the worst record. They shouldn't be playing down to this level. of team, right? It just, that's the game. But ideally, you want to see this Broncos team. If they're playing a really bad team, you want to see them blow out a few of these really bad teams, do what they should, right? And when they're in these dog fights against some really good teams, you want to see them be competitive. You want to see them put themselves in a position

to win. I think that's what we're all aiming for here for this team. And I think we're going to see that. I think they, uh, they've addressed the things that are a little problematic that hurt them in this department. The run game was the biggest one. And I think the run game is going to be night and day different this upcoming season. Knock on wood, prayers to anything out there. Let's get it going. It's growth and stability that sustain any professional organization. I don't care who you are or what country that you're in.

You have to show some form of growth. And, Cody, you're talking about the run game. The run game hasn't been on track for several years now. And that has hurt the quarterback, offense efficiency. But more importantly, he's put a lot of stress on very Joseph in the defense to go out there and turn teams over and have a significant amount of stops inside the red zone. So for me, if there is a wish list for me, I want balance.

Not just balance for the offense, but balance for the whole damn team. Because if the Broncos can stabilize themselves offensively running the ball, you know what that does for the defense? Now you can go hog wild. It's like, you know what, Van Gogh, we don't even care about the other team running the ball. we're just going to tell our guys just get up field and wreak habit, right? And when that happens, there's going to be turnovers.

But if the Broncos can't get a semblance of balance, it's going to be problematic again. He's going to put a lot of stress on the defense once again. Yeah, no, I love it. Let's hit our final break. When we come back, let's put a bow on the show. A couple of closing thoughts on Boe and also Denver Bronco, who retired this week. We'll talk about that. We come back right here on your locked-on Bronco Squatcho.

Interesting microphone you got back there, Cody. Brother, I don't know what happened. I think it was my chair and I squeaks all the time, man. I don't even know what to do with you. You're funny. Before we get into business, can I tell a little bit of a hilarious story here that just makes me. Sure, Cody. Chris Thomason, right?

We're at the NFL draft at the Broncos team facility. I'm hanging out with Andrew Mason, Chris Thompson. We're getting our food. The Broncos, they nailed it by. Shout out to Jeff for the awesome food. He did a really great job here. But we're looking at the old school logos, you know, like the 1960s logo, the kind of the Buck and Bronco.

And then there's the one with the yellow logo. And we're looking at that. Andrew Mason says, chat GPT couldn't even do something like that, couldn't make anything like that. And Chris Thomason goes, what's like who's chat GPT? No. Oh, my gosh. I was like and I was like with Chris you don't know what chat GPT is he goes no it is it I was like Chris thank you so much you have literally like saved my like perspective in humanity because God bless you I was like Chris please never find out what chat GPT is just that was the best thing I've ever heard that's amazing that's amazing I'm excited I love the banter that happens like when we're waiting to go into practice and like in the media room after games and in the press box and at the buffet and all that kind of stuff so we'll be back

there's soon enough. Real quick, because I do want to hit on Mr. Justin Simmons, but just closing thoughts real quick on Bo. I think the reason why there might be some concern as it pertains to Beau is not necessarily because of the procedure. We found out that that procedure was expected, right? But it's the timing because we heard from Sean Payton at the, I think it was the NFL owners meetings, that Bo was expected to be ready for the start of the offseason program, which starts Monday. We just found out a few days ago. He underwent the second procedure. So it seems like that's in jeopardy. I'm fine with Bo Nex long term,

but I think that's where the concern may stem from some Broncos fans is, okay, Sean said this, now that's not going to happen. Where do we go from here? I think that's fair. I think initially like what was said contradicts kind of what is there now. Now here's my theory on this whole thing.

Bo has always had this recheck planned, but I don't necessarily think the recheck planned for them to go in and to do this, right? I think a lot of it is, okay, Bo had surgery. He might have had hardware in there. We don't know. Like, they didn't release the details as to like what Boe actually had done,

just that he had a successful operation. But often at times when you have things inserted, well, now it's like your bone has to heal together. And so at times you go in there, Bo's been walking around. He was at the master's hanging out with Drake May, was moving well. Okay, then you have this recheck.

With that in mind, the doctor probably asked the surgeon, probably yes, hey, you feel any discomfort. Scar tissue can sometimes build up. So maybe you go in there and it's like, hey, all right, you've got maybe joint pain because of scar tissue or loose cartilage. We get that stuff cleaned out easily. And then you go in there and maybe that's all this. Maybe that's all this really was, right? But it did change effectively the timeline in which we're told that he'd be fully cleared and ready to go for the start of the offseason program.

Yeah. Sarah, Nick, you guys have any thoughts on that? Yeah, I don't, I don't like it. I don't like any of it. So I just, I'm ready for, can we stimulate to the point where Bow Nix is back on the field? and it's over and we're not thinking about. That's where I'm at with it because, like, I don't, yeah, I've got people texting me like, hey, what's, what's going on with Bo Nix?

Is this even a real report? Because, you know, you never know what gets posted on Facebook nowadays. So you've got people. Oh, God. But I mean, it's a, it's a mess. Yeah. Let's talk about chat GPT. But I think that, you know, this, none of it, none of it excites me.

None of it, like, I'm not, I can't sit here because I'm not an orthopedic surgeon or orthopedic expert. or ankle surgery expert or even a surgeon. I don't know any of that stuff. So I'm sitting here as somebody who's saying, okay, what I've been told as a fan of the team is that my quarterback is going to be on the field for OTAs. I've been told that by not the head coach,

not the general manager, but the owner of the team said that. And Bo Nix himself came out after all this and said, yeah, it was going to be four to six weeks. I just want to clear the air on, you know, all this stuff. Well, I mean, he's entitled. to take as long as he needs to recover from a broken ankle, which occurred just, I mean, it was four months ago, right, or three months ago. So I know that it's not been even really

that long in the grand scheme of things. I just like, and I'm not trying to be a worry ward either. I'm just telling you how I feel in terms of what I was told by everybody else who's in charge of this team, including the quarterback, including the owner and the head coach and the general manager. And now it's like, oh, well, now it's not going to be for another squints, checks the calendar three months almost that he's going to be back. And like, that's a long time. Like, that's a long, that's a big miss when you're talking about the projected return time and the actual return time. So I don't like any of it. Let me ask you this. Let me ask you this. When we go for Broncos OTAs beginning officially on June 2nd, on X is on the side field.

Are you, are you, are you, are you better? Yeah. 100%. That's the goal. I think we'll see you. I'll say about that. This is all, these are always fluid situations. From an owner's standpoint, you listen to the doctors and you are trying to be optimistic.

But you never know. As a guy that's had a couple of surgeries myself, I know the doctors always evaluate you and give you projections. Like when I injured my knee the first time, the projection was, oh, man, you'll be back in eight months through some hard work and some grinding. I got back in six months. Shouldn't have done that, right? I shouldn't have done it, but I did. So the situation with Beau, just like Cody said,

this could be a situation of lose some loose carlage here and there, maybe cause the pain and discomfort, and you go in and you do a scope. It's a scope. It's not major surgery. Yeah. Right? You're just cleaning it up.

It's like me taking a mop and going across my floor. I'm not doing a home, makeover on the ankle or whatever. So that's the way that I look at it. Just take some of the debris, the loose cartilage out, and then have him go back out there and play. And we know how important Bo is. The idea is that you want him for the regular season,

their entire season. So let's just say that there's no Bo in OTAs or minicap. I'm fine with that because you know you're working on getting him back 100% and going back to what we talked about earlier. It gives both Jarrah Stidim and Sam Ellinger, an opportunity to actually compete to see who's going to be the backup quarterback. So I know there was a massive panic. I've been around people who have, you know, they've had their panic like it was a bear in the room

and I had to tell them, calm the hell down. It's not that big. Now, had they said that there was some swelling, there was an infection, now we have an issue for all the reports. From what they told us, that's not what they said. I'm just going to look at it as a cleanup. As long as he's there, day one of training camp, I'm fine. For people that don't.

Hey, hey, this is the scope. Cody, Cody. This is the need. Not only fans, man. I don't know what you're doing. Not only fans. A small scope hole, very minimally invasive. You can hardly see it.

You know, they shoot the camera through there just to go through and clean it. A very, very small incision. Something that won't even scar for these guys most of the time. So, hey, man, look, I thought I was going to have to turn off my camera. I didn't know where you were going with that. I don't know why you'd have to turn off your camera. Someone would have to, like, turn off my camera or remove me from this train. I was like, oh, what's happening here?

No, I'm picking my talents. Before we get out of here, fellas, Cody, I know you have a relationship with this guy, Nick. I'm assuming you do as well. Justin Simmons announcing this week, he's officially retiring from the NFL, retired as a Denver Bronco, probably the best Bronco to never make a playoff appearance, if I had to say, off the top of my mind. I mean, just one of the good guys in the organization for a long time. Sarah, I see you got the jersey up there in the background. You guys quickly have any thoughts here on Justin Simmons calling in a career.

Yeah, hell of a career for Justin. I mean, when you look at someone who does things the right way on the field, off the field, that's Justin, 110% of the way. And I've seen a lot of people the last 48 hours debating whether or not he should be in the ring of fame. People are like, I think people need to remember the ring of fame was not necessarily predicated on team success. It's about highlighting an individual who stood out in remarkable ways and had an impact. Justin Simmons was a bright star, a bright light in one of the darkest times in Broncos country from the time he came on to the time his time ended in Denver. he was always the guy that shined the positive light on things.

And his impact, once again, speaks for itself. Over 600, 66 career tackles for him, 32 career interceptions, a handful of different passes broken up and defenced against. And just what he did, you know, on the field, off the field, Demarius Thomas, Good Guy Award winner. You go through the Darren Williams, I mean, a good guy award winner,

Demaris Thomas team MVP. And three-time Walter Payton Man of the Year, in my opinion, Hall of Fame player on the field, off the field, off the field. He won't go into the Hall of Fame, but I think in terms of his impact, who he was, he's a Hall of Fame human being. Yeah, that's going to be really interesting and interesting conversation when the committee gets together and they start talking about, well, who deserves to go in five years from now. And Justin's name is going to come up.

Whether he gets in, I don't know, but he was a hell of a player in my book. And here's a bad thing for Justin. He came from Boston College right after Super Bowl 50. Right. So he was thrust into an environment that helped him as a young player. But then he's no longer with the team when they make the playoff run and they're one game away from the Super Bowl. So it sucks in that situation knowing as though how close he was. I would have loved to see Justin give that opportunity with the team and be a part of them with that run last year, especially with Brandon Jones being out. But that's not what was in the cards. but he would always be remembered as one of the stand-up guys for me.

I love what he did, you know, off the field. He continues to do that. So he's still, he's a Hall of Famer in my eyes. Yeah, I've really enjoyed watching Justin Simmons play. The jersey behind me is funny, funny story. I went to, I've told Cody this on our bonus episode that we did on Justin Simmons the other day. But I came to Denver for a weekend in 2023. It was the first game I'd been to since, I think, 2012.

And it was against the Packers. And just riding around with my friend Cameron, we were at the Park Meadows Mall. And this one store in the Park Meadows Mall was like basically saying, hey, like we're anticipating the Broncos are going to trade everybody. Like that line, including Justin Simmons. So we're trying to get rid of our Justin Simmons jersey. So they were stitched Justin Simmons jerseys for like 50 bucks. And I was like, well, I didn't bring a jersey to wear to the game or anything. And so I might as well grab a jersey to wear it to the game.

So I grabbed the jersey, wear it to the game. And I told Cody the story that, you know, me and Cam, we stuck around after the game out by the tunnel where the players come get into their vehicles. And Justin was signing autographs, taking photos for over an hour. And he was out there. I stood in the line. I waited to see him. And he signed my jersey for me. It was really cool.

Like I didn't even plan on doing any of that stuff. So it's just kind of funny how it worked out. But that's my one real interaction with Justin Simmons. And I just, I loved watching him play. It was like Cody said, he was a light and a dark time for the team and somebody who I think had a lot more pressure on him than he should have because as a safety, how much can you, you know, like he said at his press conference. He's like I was doing everything that I could. And yeah, I felt like I was being asked to do too much as, you know, basically the leader of the team. And so I, and it's a shame.

him Brandon Marshall is not the same type of guy, but you think of guys like that who never made the playoffs, regardless of where he went in his career. It's crazy, crazy to think that he never played in a single playoff game. So, yeah, I'm excited to see what he does next, honestly.

I think he'll be great at whatever it is. Yeah, no, I think you guys hit the nail on the head. Just an all-around good guy, a great football player, and a shining light in a very, very dark time for the Denver Broncos.

So congratulations to Justin Simmons on an incredible career. Always going to be a fan favorite amongst Broncos country. And we'll see what the next chapter of his life holds for him. But good stuff, as always today, gentlemen. We'll see what happens with Bo Nix. We'll get ready for the offseason program to start on Monday. And we'll keep you guys posted along the way here on your lockdown Broncos squad show. For Cody Rourke, Sarah Beninger and Nick Ferguson, I am Anilo Piro.

Thank you guys so, so much for tuning in. And we'll talk to you guys next week. Have a good weekend, y'all. Peace.