Five months after releasing quarterback Russell Wilson and taking on the largest dead money salary cap hit in NFL history, the Denver Broncos have found their replacement.
Bo Nix is the team’s quarterback of the future, and present.
Nix performed exceptionally well in the team’s first two preseason games and, granted, he did play against backups, but he turned in the kind of performance you would want to see from a starter against reserves.
Nix led seven drives over the last two weeks. The Broncos scored on six of those drives (the other drive ended with a Lucas Krull fumble). Through two preseason games, Nix is 23-of-30 passing for 205 yards with two touchdown passes and no turnovers. He also has six carries for 29 rushing yards.
It should be an easy decision for Denver coach Sean Payton to name Nix the team’s starting quarterback. This is undoubtedly the outcome that Payton was hoping for when he used the 12th overall pick during April’s NFL draft to select Nix, who is a perfect fit for Payton’s offense.
The Broncos are not scheduled to practice again until Wednesday, so an official announcement might still be a few days away. It feels inevitable, though, that Nix will be named the starting quarterback for Denver’s road season opener against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, Sept. 8.
