Broncos
Broncos HC Sean Payton spoke on the pre-existing ankle condition of QB Bo Nix, which doctors said made his fractured ankle inevitable.
“What was found was a condition that was predisposed — they always find a little more when they go in,” Payton said, via ESPN. “It wasn’t a matter of if, it was a matter of when. When you look at the play and you’re trying to evaluate it — the operating surgeon said that this was going to happen sooner than later. Now, you go about the rehab, proper orthotics, all those things.”
“So listen, he’ll rehab his tail off and get ready and get back to being healthy,” Payton continued. “I think for someone who runs with the ball, I think he’s done a pretty good job of protecting himself, not all the time, but for the most part, he’s done a pretty good job of sliding and understanding playing for another day. You have to know him. He’s fidgety to begin with. He might have just been getting his scooter laps. He was up there, like, in an area he’d never be in department-wise. He’s handling it like a pro. Man, I’m sure there’s disappointment for him to have to watch on Sunday.”
Chargers
New Chargers OC Mike McDaniel spoke at length about his plans for QB Justin Herbert, noting that he wants to take some of the responsibilities off of their superstar quarterback.
“I think not relying too heavily on Justin’s ability to do above and beyond I think is critical to maximize those types of opportunities,” McDaniel said, via Pro Football Talk. “That’ll be one of the first things that we’ll try to do is take a little off his plate so that he is free to do that when his greatness is required.”
“There’s a lot of incredible plays that Justin has made,” McDaniel added. “He’s firmly capable, and sometimes as a coach you can rely upon that a little too much. There’s schematic ways to get completions that maybe all three quarterbacks on your roster would be capable of doing. Easier completions, not putting so much — It can be taxing over time for a player to necessitate an incredible play too often to be able to score points and win football games. So you try to take it off of him by creating some low-cost, high-reward offense that he’s firmly capable of doing but maybe a player of lesser talent would be capable of doing as well.”
- Tony Pauline of EssentiallySports reports word around the Shrine Bowl is that the Chargers will cut OT Mekhi Becton, who is entering the final year of his contract in 2026.
Chiefs
Chiefs CEO Clark Hunt told reporters that he has no doubt TE Travis Kelce can still play at a high level and wants him back in 2026.
“Well, as an organization, we certainly hope that he will come back,” Hunt said, via Pro Football Talk. “He had another great year, maybe not on par with where he was four or five years ago, but still had over 800 yards, and was really one of the leaders on the offensive side of the ball for us. So there’s no doubt in my mind that he can still play. We’re trying to be respectful and let him have the time that he needs to make a decision. He has sort of a busy offseason coming up with his engagement and marriage, so we want to be respectful and give him the time he needs to make a decision. But we certainly hope that he’ll be back.”
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