ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Sean Payton said at his season-ending news conference Tuesday that Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix had a preexisting ankle condition that made a fracture inevitable.
Nix broke a bone in his right ankle on Denver's game-winning drive in the Broncos' 33-30 overtime victory over the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round of the playoffs.
Nix flew to Birmingham, Alabama, last week for an operation performed by Dr. Norman E. Waldrop III, a foot and ankle specialist at the Andrews Sports Medicine and Orthopedic Center.
Nix watched from a suite Sunday as backup Jarrett Stidham took his place in Denver's 10-7 loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC championship game.
On Tuesday, the Broncos' brass provided the fullest accounting yet of Nix's injury, with Payton saying a preexisting issue made the fracture “a matter of when.”
“What was found was a condition that was predisposed — they always find a little more when they go in,” Payton said. “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."
Payton said he has no concerns about Nix’s health going forward even though Nix has had several ankle operations going back to high school.
“So listen, he’ll rehab his tail off and get ready and get back to being healthy,” Payton said. “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.”
General manager George Paton said Nix is tracking to return in May when the Broncos begin organized team activities.
Also Tuesday, Payton fired offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi, wide receivers coach Keary Colbert and cornerbacks coach Addison Lynch. Lombardi and Payton had worked together for 15 years.
Just before going to the lectern for his wrapup news conference, Payton said he saw Nix cruising around team headquarters on his medical scooter, which he'll use until he graduates to crutches and then a walking boot.
“He was just up above us here,” Payton said from the atrium of the Broncos' suburban headquarters. “I said, ‘What are you doing? Getting your scooter laps in?’
“You have to know him. He’s fidgety to begin with,” Payton said. “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.
Nix led the Broncos (15-4) to a franchise record-tying 14 wins in the regular season and their first playoff triumph since Super Bowl 50 a decade ago. He's won 25 games in two seasons and has an NFL-best 11 game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime during that span.
“It’s difficult to get as far as he brought us, and then also to see one of his contemporaries, someone in his draft class who he would have loved to have competed against, advance," Payton said of Patriots QB Drake Maye, who was Nix's predraft training partner.
"It’s a tough deal.”
Payton said he's still smarting over going for it on fourth-and-1 from the New England 14 instead of trying a chip-shot field goal that would have given Denver a 10-0 lead with a blizzard on the way.
“I think probably what irks me more is the call more than the decision” to go for it, Payton said of the bootleg rollout that New England deciphered in what turned out to be a turning point in the game. “There are those moments that you wish you had back.”
The Broncos will soon be out from under the record $85 million in dead cap charges from releasing Russell Wilson. They took a $53 million charge in 2024 and $32 million against their 2025 salary cap.
Combined with their new $175 million training facility and headquarters, the Broncos figure to be major players in free agency again.
“I think, like in any case, if I said I’m going give you $50,000 to decorate your home or $200,000, your home’s going to look nicer, I think if you’re a decent shopper, if you have more money,” Payton said. "I think the same takes place with our sport.
“I'm proud of the way everyone else handled it, and looked at developing young players and didn’t use it as a built-in excuse. We can find those all the time. I think it’s significant, and it’s still important. We evaluate wisely. We draft wisely. We make these decisions regarding free agency with well-thought-out plans, and we go from there.”
Paton said, “I think players will want to come here for a number of reasons,” chief among them the Walton-Penner ownership group.
“You can see what they’ve done, and what they’re doing, and what they continue to do, and all the resources and leadership they’ve shown,” Paton said. “I think the quarterback makes a big difference. Players want to come for the quarterback, and the fan base in Denver. People love it here, and I think that helps. Now we’re playing at a high level, and again it starts over. I think players will want to be here.”
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
Denver Broncos general manager George Paton responds to question during a season-ending news conference Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, at the NFL football team's headquarters in Centennial, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton responds to question during a season-ending news conference Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, at the NFL football team's headquarters in Centennial, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix leaves the field after an NFL divisional round playoff football game against the Buffalo Bills, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Nick Pappas' process for preparing the Super Bowl field got underway long before the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots started getting ready for the 2025 season.
The NFL's turf guru picked the sod farm that began growing the field for the game about 16 months ago and spent time since then monitoring the progress. The job went into overdrive in January when Pappas and his crew started a monthlong installation and preparation process to make sure that the story of the game is about the teams and not the grass.
The field at Levi's Stadium will be the stage for the country's most-watched sporting event of the year on Feb. 8, along with the pregame and halftime festivities and concerts that make Super Bowl Sunday a cultural capstone.
“I always joke with everyone, it’s the most expensive real estate there is, everyone wants a piece of it,” Pappas said. “Trying to set that calendar up in a way that we have this time and space available to maintain it and work on the field and prepare it, but also provide time and slots for all those different entertainment pieces, the halftime rehearsals and so on. That becomes a bit of a challenge just to make sure that we can all get what we need done.”
The process is an intensive one, starting with picking the sod farm to grow the turf. Pappas settled on a farm about two hours east of Levi's Stadium in what was an easy choice as he had used the same farm to grow the grass for Super Bowl 58 in Las Vegas two years ago and that farm also is used by the San Francisco 49ers.
Pappas visited the farm every few months to monitor the three potential fields, cutting samples to test the surfaces for quality and appearance before settling on the winning choice earlier this month.
Pappas' crew then began removing the 49ers' old field on Jan. 6 — three days after the team's regular-season finale — and then put down the new surface for the Super Bowl on Jan. 8. Because the 49ers were still in the playoffs at that time and had a remote chance of hosting the NFC title game this past Sunday, Pappas was prepared to bring in a second field after that game if necessary.
That quickly proved unnecessary on wild-card weekend when a loss by Green Bay ended hopes of a 49ers home playoff game so the focus quickly turned to getting the field ready for the Super Bowl.
Most of the first two weeks were focused on getting the field in its best shape after rolling it out at Levi's Stadium. The crew aerates and top dresses the field to help create thicker grass, better drainage and a firmer field, mows it to get it to the proper length and uses fertilizer, grow lights and water to get it into the best condition possible.
A dry January helped make the process easier, allowing the grounds crew to better control the amount of water for the field, and the grass spent much of each day under pink LED lights.
The field also undergoes extensive testing to ensure it is optimal for safety and performance. That proved to be a big issue three years ago when the field in Arizona was criticized for being too slippery, impacting the game won by Kansas City over Philadelphia.
The NFL uses two main tools to test fields around the league to measure traction and to determine that the surface isn't too hard or soft.
The BEAST — Biomechanical Elite Athlete Surface Tester — uses a robotic leg with a cleat to mimic the way NFL players jump, stop, start and change direction to make sure the field isn't too sticky or slippery. The field will be tested in 60 spots several times between installation and game day.
“We test the field spatially and determine that the end zones are playing like the center field and they’re playing like the wings of the field," said Philipe Aldahir, head of research and innovation for Biocore, the company that provides the BEAST to the league. “That's one dimension. The other one is over time. This field is fresh and it’s new and as activity takes place between now and the game, we want to ensure a similar level of traction from day one to the game.”
The STRIKE is also used at about 60 spots around the field and tests the firmness of the field.
The final touches included painting the yard lines, the logos and then finally the team logos for the end zone happen this week once the matchup was set.
The league uses a seasoned vet for that job with Brian Johnson in charge of painting the field. Johnson began working on the Super Bowl crew 30 years ago when it was played at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, when Johnson worked at Arizona State.
“Painting ‘The Shield’ is his baby,” Pappas said.
Then the field gets turned over to the users, with the entertainers beginning their work on the field this week before the game.
“Everyone’s goal is to deliver perfection," Pappas said. "Whether you’re the group delivering the halftime show or you’re field crew delivering the field, the goal is perfection for everyone. So we have to work together and find a way to make it all happen.”
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
Workers build a structure above grow lights on the field at Levi's Stadium as it is prepared for the NFL's Super Bowl LX football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
A Biomechanical Elite Athlete Shoe-Turf Tester (BEAST) is shown during a demonstration on the field at Levi's Stadium, as the turf is prepared for the NFL's Super Bowl LX football game, in Santa Clara, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
A worker kneels under grow lights on the field at Levi's Stadium as it is prepared for the NFL's Super Bowl LX football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Field Director for the National Football League Nick Pappas is interviewed Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026, at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., ahead of NFL's Super Bowl LX football game. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Signs for Super Bowl LX are displayed on the SAP Tower at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
