Bo Nix’s ankle recovery hits a familiar 'second step' in the Broncos’ offseason plan

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Sean Payton said there's a “good chance” quarterback Bo Nix will be on the field during the Denver Broncos ' minicamp next month.

“We feel real good about where he's at,” the Broncos head coach said after the team's rookie minicamp practice Saturday. “You guys will have a chance to see it here in a few weeks. Clearly, full speed by training camp. We just want to be smart relative to holding him back a little.”

About two weeks ago it was revealed that Nix, who broke his right ankle in Denver's divisional overtime win over the Buffalo Bills, had a follow-up procedure to his surgery in January, waylaying any notion of him fully participating in the early stages of the offseason training program.

Payton called the follow-up an expected part of Nix's recovery: “The follow-up procedure was not a surprise,” he said. “We had five other players who staged surgeries (this offseason) when there's a (first) step, then evaluate, and then there's a second step. He was the sixth to go through that. No surprises.”

There's a possibility that Nix could be back on the field for the team's mandatory minicamp June 16-18 before the team breaks for the summer and returns for the start of training camp in late July, the coach said.

“I think there's a good chance we see him in the offseason program,” Payton said. “We're going to be the ones kind of holding back, if you will.”

Until Nix returns, backup Jarrett Stidham, who lost the AFC championship to New England, and No. 3 QB Sam Ehlinger, will split snaps. The Broncos also have Nathan Peterman at rookie minicamp along with tryout player E.J. Warner, son of Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner.

Payton said he's thrilled about general manager George Paton's five-year contract extension signed earlier this week that will keep him in Denver through 2030.

“I said to him, ‘Man, I consider myself very fortunate to have been with one general manager in New Orleans (Mickey Loomis) who I would call a very close friend and a great working partner, and then to find another person like George.’ I know that we both feel the same way," Payton said. "We love the grind together. He’s a tremendous asset and all, and he’s very good at what he does. I think we complement each other. I am super excited for him. I said that to you guys at the combine, it was just a matter of time. We think alike in a lot of cases.”

Payton, who turned over play-calling duties this offseason to QBs coach Davis Webb, has two more years on his contract that he signed in 2023.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Denver Broncos center Zarian McGill, left, blocks center Jack Walsh during drills at the NFL football team's rookie minicamp, Saturday, May 9, 2026, at the team's headquarters in Centennial, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Denver Broncos offensive lineman Kage Casey takes a break during drills at the NFL football team's rookie minicamp, Saturday, May 9, 2026, at the team's headquarters in Centennial, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Denver Broncos quarterback E.J. Warner takes part in drills at the NFL football team's rookie minicamp Saturday, May 9, 2026, at the team's headquarters in Centennial, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Denver Broncos quarterback E.J. Warner takes part in drills at the NFL football team's rookie minicamp Saturday, May 9, 2026, at the team's headquarters in Centennial, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Davis Webb, right, confers with quarterbacks E.J. Warner (13) and Nathan Peterman, second from left, during drills at the NFL football team's rookie minicamp Saturday, May 9, 2026, at the team's headquarters in Centennial, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Brandon Lockridge was feeling relieved, even as he stood on crutches and wore a knee brace one day after crashing into a side wall.

The injury that led to him getting carted off the field could have been much worse.

“To be honest, I thought my knee was going to be in 100 pieces,” Lockridge said Saturday after getting placed on the 10-day injured list. “To find out there was no fracture was a relief.”

Lockridge suffered a major laceration and contusion to his right knee after sliding into foul territory in the fourth inning of the Brewers’ 6-0 victory over the New York Yankees as he tried to catch a fly ball hit by Cody Bellinger. Lockridge’s right knee hit the concrete on the bottom section of the wall, below the padding.

“I thought I had more space,” Lockridge said. “I think if it had been a couple of feet to the left of that corner, I felt I would have had a little bit more space to slide. By the time I peeked back and was going into my slide, I realized, ‘That’s not good.’ It just caught the concrete flush.”

The Brewers called up outfielder Blake Perkins from Triple-A Nashville to fill Lockridge's spot on the roster.

Brewers manager Pat Murphy said it's too early to give a firm timetable for Lockridge's return, but he guessed that a best-case scenario would have Lockridge miss a month.

“He took a pretty good hit,” Murphy said. “Being on the scene, that was a kid that was injured, you know what I mean? It wasn't like, ‘I just cut my leg.’ If you think about it, it was pretty serious, a pretty hard blow.”

Lockridge has not yet had imaging on the knee.

“We'll wait until Monday to get an MRI just because they said it would light up right now with all the inflammation,” Lockridge said. “We're trying to get that to go down a little bit, and then we'll get an MRI just to make sure everything structurally is good to go.”

Lockridge said the portion of his knee that hit the wall was just above the patellar tendon and just beneath the kneecap.

“Honestly, about as good a spot (as it could be),” Lockridge said. “Just a lot of tissue that it tore through. Higher or lower and it would have been much worse. Very thankful for it.”

The 29-year-old Lockridge, who joined the Brewers at last year's trade deadline, had just 160 career plate appearances before this season. He has capitalized on more playing time this year by hitting .294 with a .368 on-base percentage, no homers, 12 RBIs and five steals in 28 games.

Perkins, who's also 29, returns to the big leagues less than a week after he got sent down. He played 242 games for Milwaukee from 2023-25 while helping the Brewers win three straight NL Central times, but he's been slumping this season.

Perkins entered Saturday hitting .109 with a .212 on-base percentage in 19 games.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

Milwaukee Brewers' Brandon Lockridge is looked at by a trainer after suffering an injury during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Friday, May 8, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)

Milwaukee Brewers' Brandon Lockridge is carted off the field after suffering an injury during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Friday, May 8, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)