The Denver Broncos will play in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday for the first time since 2015. But the person who leads them will not be able to compete. Bonix suffered a broken ankle in the team’s divisional round win over the Buffalo Bills in the final game and missed the remainder of the season.
The 25-year-old Nix was ruled out shortly after that win, with head coach Sean Payton announcing the quarterback was injured on the penultimate play of the team’s overtime win. Nix was scheduled to undergo season-ending surgery in a few days, but the timeline for his injury was not released until Sunday.
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The quarterback is expected to miss 12 weeks after undergoing surgery, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Knicks reportedly did not allow any weight on the ankle for four weeks. If he recovers well, he can start moving around as early as 12 weeks.
Schefter said that although it will be a long recovery process, the Knicks are expected to be “mostly recovered” during the team’s offseason workouts.
Nix has reportedly broken his ankle three times during his football career, though this time the fracture was in a different spot and shouldn’t affect the quarterback in the long run. Nix got off to a great start in his second NFL season with 3,931 passing yards, 25 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. His performance, coupled with the Broncos’ stellar defense, earned the Denver Nuggets the No. 1 seed in the AFC Champions League.
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With Nix out, backup Jarrett Stidham will start Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots. Stidham will make his fifth start of the game. In 20 NFL games, the 29-year-old Stidham has eight touchdowns and eight interceptions.
