Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Denver Broncos QB Bo Nix' CLEANUP Procedure Changes On-Field Timeline

Starting point is 00:00:00 Bo Nix just had a cleanup procedure on his ankle and his timeline for taking the field has changed. You are Locked on Broncos, your daily Denver Broncos podcast, part of the Locked-on podcast network, your team every day. What's up, Broncos country? I'm Cody Rourke. joined as always by Sarah Beddinger. And on today's show, Bo Nix just underwent a recheck of his ankle, which was planned. But he also had a cleanup procedure. And that puts his timeline that was initially set for the off-season pro. program into question. What is the latest expectation surrounding Bo Nix? We'll go through that and how the team will manage his reps in the offseason program with a full buildup towards training camp here.

Starting point is 00:00:46 Sarah, obviously over the weekend at the NFL draft, it was initially reported that Bo Nix recently met with his surgeon, Dr. Norman Waldrop, who performed the surgery after he suffered the fracture in Denver's win in the playoffs. And now he's undergone a cleanup procedure. And Broncos country is panicking. But I feel like while panic is okay for fans to feel. I do think there are some things that I had been told that I would like to share, but your initial thoughts on hearing this in terms of the cleanup procedure just seven days away from the team's offseason program beginning.

Starting point is 00:01:20 My initial thoughts, Cody, were, you know, my heart sank. And I was kind of feeling like, you know, Po Damron and the rise of Skywalker where he's like, you know, somehow Palpatine has returned. I'm like, somehow concern over Bo Nix's ankle. has returned. I don't like it. It's unsettling for me. I want QB1 to be all systems go. I don't want any dark clouds hanging over this offseason. This is like when we experienced the initial shock factor of Bo Nix suffering the injury in the first place. That felt like, okay, we just experienced one of the greatest wins of the last decade for the Denver Broncos in

Starting point is 00:01:59 the divisional round against Buffalo. And then it's just, I mean, an hour later or less, it felt like they lost the game. I mean, it just did. And so when anytime I hear any update on Bo Nix, that isn't overwhelmingly positive or, hey, he's on track, he's ahead of schedule, this, that, and the other, especially when it involves another procedure happening. I'm not trying to fearmonger here. I'm just telling you, this is how I felt when I read all the updates, because what, what seemed at the NFL draft, like, well, this is no big deal. He went in for a recheck that was planned, that was scheduled, that is, you know, expected to happen. and to now he's had a cleanup procedure that by what I can tell, Cody,

Starting point is 00:02:39 the procedure itself wasn't necessarily the expectation going into this whole thing. Like the Broncos have been saying he's ahead of schedule. He's on track to be on the field for OTAs. Now this puts him out for, you know, not necessarily out, but at least limited until training camp. Yeah. And look, I think all those are valid points here. And so I'm going to kind of go through maybe what I've been told a little bit.

Starting point is 00:03:03 Look, here's the thing, like what I've been told versus, you know, where's the reality? The truth is somewhere always in the middle here. But to my understanding, this was always planned for Bow was to have a recheck of the procedure that happened there initially, right? So for Bo to undergo the initial surgery, and I'm unclear of the full details, I don't think it was fully put out there that he had any plates put into his ankle or anything like that, any hardware. But what happens is when you do have a fracture, sometimes they'll go in, they'll put a plate in there. And then you have to go through the whole process of being in a boot, being on a scooter, immobilized, not being able to walk for a while, which we saw that with Beau already. We saw he went through that process. And then more recently, we saw him at the Masters.

Starting point is 00:03:44 He was walking around great. Peyton Manning even told us that he saw him, had a good conversation with him. So this recheck was always kind of planned around this timeline, right? And so it always involved them going in arthroscopically, right, which is a small little, very, very small incision. They insert a tiny camera into there. and they just go through and they check to see where things are at. That is one element of what could be deemed as a cleanup. Now, when you go in and you look at that, if there's scar tissue,

Starting point is 00:04:11 sometimes the surgeon will go in there and they'll clean up the scar tissue. If there are some fragments, which can either be like, you know, floating bones, bone spurs or even cartilage, they'll go through and they'll remove that stuff. Those are typically standard in what we call a cleanup procedure, but because I don't know whether or not Bo had any plates or anything like that, another thing that is very possible in this instance with this surgery, Sarah, is that they, in the initial surgery back in January, they inserted hardware, right? It could be a plate, could be screws. And then after it heals and he goes through this whole process where now he's

Starting point is 00:04:44 training and he's doing things, he's rehab, he's walking, they go in and they remove that. So now, I mean, that's a standard process because the bones have healed. They removed the hardware so it can allow those fractures to go in there and heal. So to me, that's my understanding from what I've been told was the emphasis around this. And there is no long-term concern here with Bo. Though I do think maybe you have to ask yourself if you're the Broncos, do we change the way that Bo plays? I mean, it's hard to go and ask a player to say,

Starting point is 00:05:12 hey, we don't want you to run anymore. I don't think that's the case. And look, he fractured his ankle in high school. He's always been a mobile guy. He's always been a guy who's running. This is not something that I think is going to change how he plays, nor do I think it should. But that's kind of the insight from what I've been told.

Starting point is 00:05:29 It's kind of lingering around with the bow next thing. And he'll still be at the team facility for the offseason program. He probably won't be doing a lower body thing. He'll be going through rehab, but he'll do an upper body program at the team facility beginning here in the next week or so. Yeah, that's really great insight. And definitely, you know, squashes some of the worry, I hope, or at least for myself and hopefully for other listeners of the show, too, Cody.

Starting point is 00:05:52 I also remember back when this injury initially happened, remember that like three or four different timelines were thrown out at time like I think bow himself said you know four to six weeks and he'll be back you know right his rain essentially and then there was other reports that said four to six months and so it would seem as though like at least in that vein when it initially happened for the return timeline if if that initial projection of four to six months was accurate that also kind of gives me in a weird way piece of mind just knowing that hey the nature of this injury the nature of the recovery process, the procedure that's required for it and things like that, that, you know, timeline was kind of put

Starting point is 00:06:31 out there right away. So it's not like, okay, yeah, he's had a major setback in his recovery timeline and we got to wait another month to kind of see where he's at. No, it was a, it was a recheck. They went in and did an additional procedure, even if that additional procedure was not part of plan A, you know, it certainly was part of the expectation of, hey, this could be needed. And so therefore, the timeline. You know, I'm talking myself into something, Cody.

Starting point is 00:06:57 I really am. I am because I can't have like, and I'm being selfish here, Bo Nix not being able to run and move around. Like that is what makes him special. So if that is something that is taken away from his game, that would concern me greatly. I just,

Starting point is 00:07:15 it's not that he can't win from the pocket. We've seen him be able to make throws from the pocket, but what makes Boe so special is his ability to avoid sacks, to avoid pressure, to get outside the pocket, to make plays on the move, to do all those sorts of things when you're asking him, hey, go win us a game. And he showed that against Buffalo. He showed that against Green Bay.

Starting point is 00:07:36 He showed that against a number of teams last year that he can do that. Go win us a game. His legs, his mobility, his speed are all factors in what makes him a special, potential $300 plus million dollar player. And it helps the offensive line, too, at times. you know, especially against some of the pass rushers and the way the defenses try to stunt and attack in today's game. Like, Bo, I think one thing that I've liked about his game early on, and I felt like he did a good job of this from his rookie year to now. Like, he's adapted so much to the speed of it, knowing what he can or can't do.

Starting point is 00:08:08 And so much of that is knowing what his mobility allows him to do not only just as a runner, but as a thrower. And of course, you know, you always want to protect your quarterback. I don't want Bo to become a running quarterback, right? But I want him to be able to, hey, if you need to break it out, like you did against the Houston Texans to get into field goal range, 25-yard scramble, bang. You need that in your repertoire here. But, I mean, I understand the concern from Broncos fans,

Starting point is 00:08:33 especially considering the highest to like where this team is at now, the window that they are in being so close to get into the Super Bowl last season, hearing things like procedure and, oh, this is going to change things. Where I think Broncos countries hung up and rightfully so is that it directly, like this whole thing that has happened has directly contradicted what the team itself has put out there, Greg Penner, George Payton, Sean Payton. It is necessarily, it is kind of contradicted that ready to fully go for OTAs, which, I mean, that's not until June.

Starting point is 00:09:04 So maybe that is still very much on play here. But the offseason program, I think, is the term that they did use, which realistically, it begins on May 4th, which is just a few days away here. He'll be at the team facility going through rehab. He'll do an upper body program from what I understand. And then they'll gradually work his way in. But this leaves a lot of questions too, right? because the initial surgery said, hey, the timeline here,

Starting point is 00:09:26 Bow's going to be ready for the offseason program. Well, that's a few days away. That changes. But what does it look like from his timeline in terms of stepping back on the football field? Today's show is brought to you by our friends over there at Indeed, folks, workplace chaos. Deadlines are stacking up and you've got your inbox overflown. But you know what?

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Starting point is 00:10:51 change we're going to update you on all of that information on today's episode locked on broncos and broncos country we appreciate you so much means the world to cody and i that you would spend your days with us all you every dayers out there's out there's out to every single one of you and if you're looking for another way to support the show which we really appreciate check out the every dayer club there's going to be a couple of tiers there for you and the all access club you're going to get all 22 reviews from cody on a couple of rookies and cody i know you updated some of them that might have had some audio issues in the upload process you're going to get all the so listeners will get that full audio breakdown from you. It's not just clips of the players. Cody's actually providing the analysis on there. Check that out. Link will be in the show notes, locked on broncos. That supercast.com.

Starting point is 00:11:33 And we do appreciate all of your feedback on that as well as we continue to roll along. But Broncos country, let's talk about the timeline for Bo Nix and his return, because I think ultimately we've all kind of expected whenever the Broncos hit the field this offseason for their OTAs for mini camp, that Bo is going to be out there leading the charge. fully go, like no setbacks, no nothing. This throws a bit of a wrench into that plan, Cody.

Starting point is 00:11:58 Yeah, no, it does certainly. And obviously with this new development of a cleanup procedure, well, typically after you have a cleanup procedure, I think the initial timeline for not doing anything, I think is about four to six weeks of probably, you know, there may be this time. He may be in a boot right now, right? I don't know that officially, but I'm going off the estimated timeline here.

Starting point is 00:12:18 Well, for the offseason program, okay, yes, if Bo can't do anything with the Zolkes. Like the Broncos right now, folks, as they go into the offseason program on May 4th, may the fourth be with you, by the way. They are not going through and they're not doing football stuff on the field. They're lifting weights. They're conditioning.

Starting point is 00:12:34 Now for Bo, that's going to look different than everybody else. He'll be there at the team facility. He'll go through his rehab process there with Bo Lowry and the training staff. He'll also do an upper body lift program there. And then when the time comes, he'll gradually ramp things up in terms of running, conditioning. it's not as drastic as when he had his first operation. I think that's one thing I want to highlight to fans here.

Starting point is 00:12:55 But what does that mean for the timeline when Denver takes the field for football-related activities in June? Well, I think there are also some concerning timelines that people have with, you know, rookie minicamp coming up on Mother's Day weekend. There was the report that came out from our good friend, Chris Thomason, said the Broncos are looking at a veteran quarterback to come in and throw for rookie minicamp because you cannot have Bo Nix, Jared Stidham, or Sam Eliger guys on your roster. they're not eligible to throw.

Starting point is 00:13:20 So I think some people are looking at them and saying, oh my gosh, this is a concern. It's not even related to that. So I want to kind of nip that in the bud real quick here. But for June, I believe it's June 2nd is when they'll have their first day of voluntary OTAs on the field. I would expect that Bo Nix is out there with a helmet. And I would imagine maybe he throws lightly, goes through some individual stuff.

Starting point is 00:13:41 But I would not expect him dropping back and passing consistently when the Broncos go to their team on air. I believe it's what, 11. on nine or nine on seven, whatever it may be. They can't do full team stuff at this point. No pads, no contact, but it's just throwing.

Starting point is 00:13:56 I imagine the bow will be limited when we talk about OTAs. But from what I've been told, the real goal here for the organization, Sarah, is that come day one of training camp at the end of July from I understand it's going to be a little bit later this year. The goal is that day one, Bo Nix is ready to go fully,

Starting point is 00:14:11 no limitations, full participation there. But I do imagine, even when training camp rolls around, because he is coming off the ankle, because they want to be smart with it. I think that they will divvy up the reps a little bit differently this year than what we saw in the last couple of years. But we'll get the primaries, but I wouldn't expect him to play in the first preseason game. Just because, like I said, this is just my speculation.

Starting point is 00:14:34 I don't think that the Bronco was want to put him out there after having the injury in that situation. I don't know if it'll be the first, but I imagine he'll probably play in the second. But then again, if he's fully ready to go, Sean will probably play him a series in the first. or second preseason game. So not saying that I'm officially reporting something here, Broncos country. I'm saying my own personal speculation is that I would expect Denver to be very smart with the usage and the reps that they give Bo Nix this summer,

Starting point is 00:15:00 including training cap. That's the smart approach. I just had another sinking feeling, Cody, as you're talking about that because I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm not trying to be a negative. I'm not trying to be a downer for the fan base.

Starting point is 00:15:14 I'm just thinking, too, like with what you're saying about reps, being divvied up differently than they have in the past. Like, could there be worse timing with Davis Webb taking over as a first year play caller? Like, you want Bo Nix out there taking all the, I don't know. I just like this, this is a gut wrenching bit of news. Like not, again, Broncos country, we know, hey, it could end up being that he's out there, full go at the start of training camp, no limitations.

Starting point is 00:15:41 They're not going to whatever. But yeah, with Davis Webb taking over as the play caller, that kind of amplifies the need for Bo Nix to be out there, you know, executing his, his vision for the offense as Sean Peyton's given those play calling duties over for the first time ever. And so I want, what I want doesn't matter. Let's just, let's just throw that out there. But I hope that Bo is able to be, like, like you said, with a helmet on at mini camp and OTAs, like, you know, I can just, even if he's got to be out there with something that's rolling him around, you know, the scooter or whatever. I don't care. Whatever it has to be, you know, you want him out there

Starting point is 00:16:16 getting those reps however he can in terms of like mental reps from the sideline, hearing how Davis calls the plays, seeing the different versions of, okay, this is the player packages or the personnel packages we're trying to install. That's all going to be really important here early in the offseason. So that's part of why it's not necessarily just no big deal that he's not going to be out there full go at the start of OTAs. But at the same time, I mean, Bo and Davis, their rapport goes, you know, a couple of years at this point. So not worried about that aspect of it, but just ideally, you know, in an ideal world,

Starting point is 00:16:50 you would like to see those guys on the same page from day one of the offseason program. Yeah, I agree. And I think that's valid 110%. And look for Bo probably to start in those meeting rooms. And they're going to be doing. Here's another thing that I like about maybe this whole process of the offseason program. While guys are going to be lifting and conditioning and Boe's going to be lifting and going through his rehab, they are going to have team meetings too. So I think it is important. Like right now, you're not necessarily going out there on the field and you're running all these concepts. But now it's kind of like, hey, this is what we did last year. Maybe this is what's going to be different. These are the new installs. This is going to be our focus here for the first part

Starting point is 00:17:27 of this and for OTAs, right? Because we know Sean likes to divvy up. And I'm sure this is going to be the same process with Davis. For this part of OTAs, we want this to be where we focus on our playbook and our install. These are our foundations. We'll go this, this, this and this. And then you start to go, you revisit that once you start training camp, but then you start adding more. You add more. You add more at that point. That's kind of where things are at. So right now, like the meetings are just installs.

Starting point is 00:17:52 There's no on field work. That I think helps Bo and Davis kind of get on the same page. But Sarah, you are right. Like the one thing that matters more than ever is when you are on the field, it's actually getting those reps, the live fire stuff, even if it's not full contact, even if the defense isn't coming after you the way that you normally would expect, especially in training camp, you want to at least. have, hey, I want to go throw again, right?

Starting point is 00:18:15 Like, what does that look like? I know Bo has been throwing some prior to this recheck, but the question is, is what is that going to look like for Bo? Is that actually going to benefit Bo not having thrown too much this offseason compared to other years? I think there's a benefit to that, but I think it is a valid question, 110%. But I think we will see him. When they do OTAs a mandatory mini camp, I think we'll see him as a limited participant.

Starting point is 00:18:42 I don't think the Broncos are going to go up there and do anything crazy or drastic. And then I do think they want to training camp. He's going to be fully ready to rock and roll here going forward. And look, this is based on everything that we have been told. These are the things that we know. And sometimes out there, you know, things can be hit in the middle. I'm not saying that the Broncos are trying to hide anything. I'm saying this is the vibe that we've gotten, obviously, from people close to bow,

Starting point is 00:19:05 obviously close to the team that know this situation. I would trust that right now because if the Broncos haven't made this kind of move of going out there and drafting a quarterback or getting this, that, or the other. I wouldn't be worried about it. Training camp is the expected day one at training camp. We expect that Bo Nix will be ready to rock and roll fully. And that's the expectation. I know that's the goal of the organization.

Starting point is 00:19:27 And that's going to be what we have to monitor here going forward. And of course, when OTAs and mini camp comes up, I'll be there at practice covering things. We'll have you updated every step of the way here. But to my understanding, the Broncos are not concerned. They anticipated this. and the schedule has allowed for them to really kind of deploy this, I think, in a way that benefits them as a team. Will it work, though?

Starting point is 00:19:49 Will it be what we want? We'll have to wait and see at this point here. But Broncos country coming up next. We're going to go through how the Broncos might be able to manage the reps at the quarterback position if Boe's not able to take a lot of them this upcoming season. We'll break that down here on today's episode of the show. The bad news about the timing of Bo Nix having a cleanup procedure on his ankle comes just days before the team's offseason program begins.

Starting point is 00:20:13 But you know what? There's some good news. The Broncos will not actually take the field for another five weeks, five and a half weeks at this point, which allows Bo to go through his own initial timeline, whatever it may be at this point. And I still think there is a chance we see him on the field at OTAs, but in limited fashion as we've talked about. So Sarah, kind of going back to this whole combination of Davis Webb being a first-time play caller, working through these installs, the on-field reps being important. Here's how the Broncos might be able to manage their reps here. Now, we knew coming into it, you know, Sean Payton said at the NFL coaches meeting between Jared Stidham, Sam Ellinger, there's a little bit of a competition there for the backup job.

Starting point is 00:20:50 Obviously, you look at Stidham's price tag. It makes it seem like he's the clear cut QB2 here for Denver, but they say that there's competition. While Bow Nix is not out there getting these reps with Jalen Waddle and Cortland Sutton, I understand that's going to be tough for Denver specifically. It gives them an opportunity to maybe evaluate the backup quarterback job at this point. early and the sample size is going to be very small in terms of how they measure OTA performance versus training camp in the preseason, but it does allow them to maybe get some clarity at some other areas of their roster. Yeah, absolutely.

Starting point is 00:21:25 And you want to have that clarity as well because we saw Jared Sidham get an opportunity in the AFC championship game. And ultimately, you know, the weather was a huge factor. A lot of things were a huge factor in that game, but it didn't go overly well. So I would like to know, I would love to be a fly on the wall, Cody, for what the Broncos are talking about in terms of how they address the depth at this position, because you typically do have three quarterbacks going into any offseason program. And so I'll be interested to see which quarterback the Broncos do bring in to throw at rookie minicamp.

Starting point is 00:21:57 Is it going to be somebody like, you know, Ben Danucci, who they just know and they trust. And they're like, hey, come, come join us from your media gig. And then, you know, after mini camp or whatever, you'll go back to the media gig. Or if they go, if the Broncos go after somebody like Teddy Bridgewater, Cody, are you, Are you concerned at all? Would that raise your level of concern? Let's say, because Teddy's like one of the only notable free agents still out there

Starting point is 00:22:21 other than Aaron Rogers, who was just given an unrestricted free agent tender by the same one, I think, that the Chargers gave to J.K. Dobbins last year. So very interesting development. As of literally, I think the day that we're recording this, that tender was applied.

Starting point is 00:22:36 But I think that with Teddy Bridgewater, let's just throw his name out there. If the Broncos decide to bring him in, Does that raise your level of concern with Bo Nix? Or are you thinking that's more in terms of just, hey, we need somebody who knows Sean Payton's offense for the offseason program. What would be your take on something like that? Well, if that happened is more so a full-on roster move, whereas like Denver,

Starting point is 00:22:56 the ideas they just want to bring in a vet of any kind for this rookie minicap and into your point. Ben Danucci's the perfect candidate. Sarah, he lives right down the road from me, by the way. You know, the Danucci and I were bonding over how expensive our car registration was here in Douglas County. Unbelievable, almost $1,000 to renew my registration, by the way. Ben Danucci, you know, like I said,

Starting point is 00:23:18 he got an NFL practice squad salary last year, and he's even complaining about the same thing. So we've got to get that fixed there. But Danucci probably makes more sense than anybody else at this point. But if they were to bring in a player like Teddy Bridgewater, Sarah, that would be different than just like, hey, we're bringing in a vet for this rookie minicamp. That to me would say, okay, hey, this is a veteran staple here.

Starting point is 00:23:39 This is someone that Sean knows. that would probably be a little bit more concerning to me if that actually happened. I think the stature of the quarterback, what kind of vet that they bring in would change that level of concern here. So once again, I'm sticking to my guns. I'm not concerned here, but I think it is fair for Broncos country to be skeptical and I have questions and to be a little worried about this because, yeah, it is a little uncertainty. As you mentioned, it's almost like a dark cloud.

Starting point is 00:24:05 Like, wait a minute, like, is this something that is being made out to be not as big as it is? like we're only going off of what we've been told, what we know, and somewhere the truth is in the middle there. And I think that is the unknown is the uncertainty part here. But I would be concerned if it was a bigger name quarterback like a Teddy Bridgewater versus, you know, a guy like Ben Danucci. Yeah, I agree. I would be too. I would think if they bring in somebody of, you know, Bridgewater's caliber, I would think that would be a clear sign of like, hey, not only are we going to slow play this, like we're a little worried about this. And so we'll see what happens. I mean, obviously there's time between now and the start of OTAs for the Broncos to kind of figure some things out.

Starting point is 00:24:44 And, uh, you know, this this whole deal right now, Cody, it just like you said, the dark cloud hanging over and otherwise like the Broncos Super Bowl aspirations. You trade for Jalen Waddle. You get the missing piece to your offense potentially. You upgrade the depth at the running back position. You have continuity all over the roster. I mean, but it all hinges on your quarterback. I mean, it all hinges on Bo Nix taking that next step as a player, which, We do believe that he could take.

Starting point is 00:25:10 And I personally believe that he's going to ascend to the top tier, the top 10 overall quarterbacks, if not greater than that. And so to have this injury issue lingering and the team putting out timelines and Bo Nix, you know, kind of trying to fight against the teams, you know, remember the whole situation? Oh, and Sean Payton right when this injury happened or shortly after it happened, like there's been conflicting reports directly from the source from a team that really doesn't give away injury information. So it's almost like this perfect storm of

Starting point is 00:25:46 PR damage control that's led to this sort of unsettling feeling. It's like I live in the Midwest, right? So there's tornado watches all the time here. Like I've never seen a tornado in my entire life. But when the side of God. Yeah, exactly. Seriously. You live in tornado alley. I mean, you're bound to see something. But here's the thing. Like when there's a tornado watch, I don't get worried at all because like the conditions could be tornado like at any time. Like that's no big deal. So when there's a tornado warning and the sirens are going off, then I start to get a little bit worried.

Starting point is 00:26:21 Even though I've never seen one in my entire life, I get worried because the sirens are going off all around and like you can hear the hail hitting the windows and you can feel the wind moving your house. Like so when that kind of stuff starts to happen, that's when I start to get unsettled. And I'm like, all right, we better we better go down. the basement right now. That's kind of what it feels like when there's so many different conflicting reports about like the, you can tell stuff that, look, we're smart. Like, we're not stupid. We can tell what's PR damage control. This was expected, even though nobody's talked about it

Starting point is 00:26:54 until now. Like, don't try to pull the wool over our eyes and, you know, give us, you can give us the optimistic sort of prognosis or what you think is going to happen. But don't tell us that something's going to happen. That's not going to happen. or that might not happen. So that's my big issue with it. And that's what's making me feel uneasy is that we've heard so many different things about, oh, yeah, it's going to be four to six weeks. Oh, it's going to be four to six months.

Starting point is 00:27:20 Oh, he's going to be back for minicamp. Oh, it's training camp. Oh, this is an expected procedure. Oh, this is an expected recheck. Like, I don't know. I just, I hate all of that noise. There's a lot of noise, right? It's, as you mentioned, and folks, I'll tell you this,

Starting point is 00:27:34 you're not going to find anybody better at making lifestyle analogies, pop culture references and applying it to your Denver Broncos quite the way that Sarah Bettinger does. He does it better than anybody else. But to your point, like, is the siren going off right now? Is that, is that wind, just wind, or is that a tornado, right? That's the unknown question at this point. But kind of going back to what I know, at least what I've been told, Sarah, when it comes to Bo, in terms of him having his ankle rechecked, this was always planned. The fact that they had a recheck plan was to say, hey, we put hardware in there, we're going to go in there, we're going to see how it held up. And then we're going to remove it if the bone structure around all of it is healed properly. Then they remove the hardware. That's typically a very common thing that happens with ankle injuries. I'd say probably more so with ankle than anything else there. But is that the reality? Is that really what happens? I mean, I'm not entirely sure. But from what I understand, that was the initial plan. And maybe it is the best case scenario, because think about it. this. When you play, like, you know, ideally most guys want to get, especially mobile athletes,

Starting point is 00:28:40 they get the hardware removed after a surgery like that because they don't want to be limited, so to speak, right? Like you have hardware in there. It may limit your mobility because, hey, if there's a plate in there on your bone, when you plant your foot, you may not be able to have the full mobility and flexibility that you need, right? And so much of this as well, like when you talk about bones, what about the tendons around the bones? How does that kind of mesh with everything? All of these things, I think we have to keep a I adhere for Bo. I think the ankle, obviously coming into the season is going to be a question. How the Broncos manage this in terms of keeping Bo to just be himself.

Starting point is 00:29:16 You know, for Bo himself as an individual, he's probably going to be thinking about what do I do here? Like he's competitive. He's going to push himself. But how does he protect himself at the same time? His mobility is such an important element of his game. And if that gets taken away, I don't know what that means. And I don't know if the Broncos want to to take that away. And I don't know if Bo doesn't want that to go away for himself. We know he can win within the pocket, as you outlined earlier. But all of this right now, the unknown is what scares us, right? The tornado watches, hey, there could be a tornado.

Starting point is 00:29:48 Tornado warning means tornado's been spotted. It's on the ground. It could be heading your way. We don't know where that is right now. And hopefully, Sarah, to kind of play off of your analogy, hopefully the sirens aren't sounding anytime soon here. And look, why have you covered every step the way Broncos country? any information we find out, you know, we'll break it down here on the show for all of you every day or is out there.

Starting point is 00:30:08 We appreciate you so much here as we continue to go throughout the entire offseason, especially after the Broncos made the blockbuster trade at Jalen Waddle. They had a really good draft, a lot of excitement. But now they see the clouds in the distance. You're like, ah, I hope that doesn't turn into a storm. Hopefully with Bo Nicks, that is the case. I don't believe it is. I think things are going to be fine.

Starting point is 00:30:28 But right now the unknown has people on edge. And I think that's perfectly understandable here. How do you feel Broncos country about all this? Let us know here on today's episode of the show. But Sarah and I, we will be back for another episode tomorrow here, Lockdown Broncos real quick. A reminder about the Everydayer Club. I uploaded the wrong versions of the All-22 of Justin Jolie and Jonah Coleman.

Starting point is 00:30:48 I cut the clips together. I put them in a program and I had two different files with the same names on those ones. I uploaded the wrong ones. The narrated ones are in there. It's now fixed. Check it out for the Everydare Club, Lockdownbroncos. that supercast.com. We appreciate you so much. Brockos country. See you tomorrow.

Locked On Broncos - Daily Podcast On The Denver Broncos - Denver Broncos QB Bo Nix' CLEANUP Procedure Changes On-Field Timeline

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