ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Broncos edge rusher Nik Bonitto missed a joint practice Thursday with Arizona as he recovers from a bone spur removed from the top of his foot.
Bonitto, who is entering the final year of his rookie contract, could return to the field next week. His recent procedure left him with three stitches in his foot, coach Sean Payton said after practice on a sweltering day at the Broncos' team facility.
“It just made a lot of sense,” Payton said of taking care of the bone spur now rather than trying to manage it through the regular season.
Bonitto appears to be next in line for a new contract after the Broncos finalized deals for receiver Courtland Sutton and defensive lineman Zach Allen. Asked if his star pass rusher's absence had anything to do with his contract, Payton opened up about Bonitto's bone-spur issue — and his own.
“I had two spurs removed on my big toe, and that hurt like you know what,” Payton said. "I’m still recovering. It’s better. His is something that we just had done, and we knew that he was going to miss this week.
“He’ll be up and at it next week. He’s been fantastic. The days he’s missed has been this simple bone spur in a unique spot on the top of the foot. It’s not weight bearing.”
Bonitto is coming off a season in which he was named second-team All-Pro after leading the team with 13 1/2 sacks.
The Broncos practiced with the Cardinals on a day when temperatures soared into the high 90s. Left tackle Garett Bolles left practice due asthma and breathing issues.
“We just pulled him out,” Payton said. “He’ll be OK.”
Payton also said fullback Michael Burton was dealing with a hamstring ailment.
It's the second straight week the Broncos have taken part in a joint practice. That's why Payton said he's going to sit most of the starters in Saturday's preseason game against the Cardinals, including quarterback Bo Nix.
His plan is to play the starters for roughly 10 plays in the final preseason game on Aug. 23 at New Orleans.
Notes: Payton said tight end Nate Adkins will miss some time in the regular season after undergoing a procedure on his ankle. “There weren’t any other things that they noticed,” Payton said. “It was a smart decision.”
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FILE - Denver Broncos linebacker Nik Bonitto (15) plays against the Las Vegas Raiders in an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in Las Vegas. Bro (AP Photo/Jeff Lewis, File)
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — An ailing astronaut returned to Earth with three others on Thursday, ending their space station mission more than a month early in NASA’s first medical evacuation.
SpaceX guided the capsule to a middle-of-the-night splashdown in the Pacific near San Diego, less than 11 hours after the astronauts exited the International Space Station.
“It’s so good to be home,” said NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, the capsule commander.
It was an unexpected finish to a mission that began in August and left the orbiting lab with only one American and two Russians on board. NASA and SpaceX said they would try to move up the launch of a fresh crew of four; liftoff is currently targeted for mid-February.
Cardman and NASA’s Mike Fincke were joined on the return by Japan’s Kimiya Yui and Russia’s Oleg Platonov. Officials have refused to identify the astronaut who had the health problem or explain what happened, citing medical privacy.
While the astronaut was stable in orbit, NASA wanted them back on Earth as soon as possible to receive proper care and diagnostic testing. The entry and splashdown required no special changes or accommodations, officials said, and the recovery ship had its usual allotment of medical experts on board. It was not immediately known when the astronauts would fly from California to their home base in Houston. Platonov’s return to Moscow was also unclear.
NASA stressed repeatedly over the past week that this was not an emergency. The astronaut fell sick or was injured on Jan. 7, prompting NASA to call off the next day’s spacewalk by Cardman and Fincke, and ultimately resulting in the early return. It was the first time NASA cut short a spaceflight for medical reasons. The Russians had done so decades ago.
The space station has gotten by with three astronauts before, sometimes even with just two. NASA said it will be unable to perform a spacewalk, even for an emergency, until the arrival of the next crew, which has two Americans, one French and one Russian astronaut.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
This screengrab from video provided by NASA TV shows the SpaceX Dragon departing from the International Space Station shortly after undocking with four NASA Crew-11 members inside on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (NASA via AP)
This photo provided by NASA shows clockwise from bottom left are, NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui gathering for a crew portrait wearing their Dragon pressure suits during a suit verification check inside the International Space Station’s Kibo laboratory module, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (NASA via AP)
This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows recovery vessels approaching the NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 capsule to evacuate one of the crew members after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)
This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows the NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 members re entering the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)
This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows the NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 members re entering the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)
