Friday Faceoff: Should Broncos Country be concerned about Bo Nix’s ankle?

Chris Schmaedeke, digital sports editor

Answer: Yes

No fan base wants to stress about injuries, especially to one of their team’s best players.

Unfortunately, quarterback Bo Nix’s ankle is the talk of Broncos Country. It’s not about Denver’s draft class but about another ankle procedure.

That’s why there should be concern among Broncos Country.

Nix has said his ankle is fine. Owner Greg Penner said everything was on schedule. Coach Sean Payton felt Nix would be participating in some offseason duties. Now all of a sudden the quarterback likely won’t be ready until training camp, according to reports.

This second surgery was part of the recovery schedule. But why did the timeline change? That’s the worrisome part. If Nix needed more work done on his ankle, why didn’t Payton and Penner mention it?

The whole situation with Nix’s ankle has been fishy from the start, and this news makes things even more unclear. We all remember how quick Nix was to defend himself when Payton discussed Nix’s ankle-injury history after the season.

All could be fine come July when Nix is out there running the first-team offense at training camp. But right now, Nix’s ankle is on the worrisome level of Nikola Jokic wearing a sleeve on his elbow and Gabriel Landeskog’s knee.

It will always be on a fan’s mind.

Chris Tomasson, Broncos beat reporter

Answer: No

For us old-timers, Miami Hall of Fame quarterback Bob Griese suffered a broken ankle Oct. 15, 1972, and returned later that season at full strength to lead the Dolphins to a Super Bowl win and an undefeated season. And that was back in the days of prehistoric medicine.

So Broncos Country should not be concerned about quarterback Bo Nix’s recovery from a broken right ankle.

Nix suffered the injury Jan. 17 in a 33-30 overtime win over Buffalo in a divisional playoff game and sat out a 10-7 loss to New England in the AFC Championship Game on Jan. 25. There’s no reason to believe he won’t be back at full strength by the start of training camp in late July.

Nix had surgery Jan. 20 and underwent what has been described as a successful cleanup procedure during a scheduled follow-up visit last week in Alabama with Dr. Norman Waldrop III, who had performed the initial surgery.

If anything, those on the Broncos perhaps have been too liberal in discussing a possible quick return by Nix. Both owner Greg Penner and coach Sean Payton said at the NFL owners meetings in late March in Phoenix that Nix would be ready for the start of organized team activities, which get underway June 2. Payton said last week, when asked about Nix’s follow-up visit, that he was “doing great” and there was “nothing to report.”

Regardless, there’s no reason for the Broncos to push Nix during spring drills. If he’s fully ready for training camp, that would be fine for the third-year man.

Some might suggest Nix, because he is a mobile quarterback, could be hampered more by this injury than a typical drop-back passer. Nix was asked on Jan. 28 if the injury could affect his abilities as a dual-threat quarterback, and he said, “Absolutely not.”

I’ll take his word for it.