In a recent interview with Phil Milani on the “Broncos and Bourbon” podcast, former Denver Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer ranted about wanting to see players step up and support rookie quarterback Bo Nix.
“I’m waiting to see who the leaders on this time are,” Plummer told Milani. “The best players — that we’ve been told are the best players — so far have underperformed. I won’t say names, I won’t talk about that — they know who they are — who are you? If you’re making a bunch of money in this league, if you’re being paid — one of the highest-paid players on the Broncos, then step up! And start stepping up and demanding that everyone around you steps up, and then when you get a chance to make a play, you make that play. Therefore, your voice of saying, ‘Step up’ is not going unheard.
“And there’s multiple guys on this team that can do it. I’m waiting to see who that is, so there’s a reason other than Bo Nix to turn the TV on and watch the Broncos. Or to go to a game and go, ‘Man, these guys got some vibrations going, these guys have some players. I’m waiting to see so-and-so and so-and-so because they’re making plays.’ Like, who are you? When are you going to step up? When are we going to have some other players step up it’s not all ‘Bo Nix, Bo Nix, Bo Nix, we’re 0-2, Bo Nix.’ No! Bo’s doing the best he can. The rest of these guys, they need to step up.”
Plummer did not mention any specific players by name, but left tackle Garett Bolles ($15.75 million) and wide receiver Courtland Sutton ($13.5 million) are the team’s highest-paid players on offense. Plummer seemed to be talking about skill players, so the wide receivers, tight ends and running backs were likely the target of his rant.
Plummer went 39-15 as a starter with the Broncos from 2003-2006, which represented the best win percentage (.722) in franchise history until Peyton Manning topped it from 2012-2015 (.790).
Broncos coach Sean Payton has also said Nix needs more support from his teammates over the last two weeks. Nix has underwhelmed, but it’s hard for a rookie QB to make plays with a struggling run game and receivers dropping passes. Plummer’s right: Nix needs his teammates to step up and help him.
