ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The last time a rookie was named captain for the Denver Broncos, his name became “The Franchise.”
Before Floyd Little arrived in Denver in 1967 as the first first-round pick to ever sign a contract with the Broncos, Denver had never made the playoffs. In seven seasons of football, they finished last in their division five times.
Little never made the playoffs with the Broncos, but he helped them to multiple winning seasons while establishing himself as one of football’s top running backs. He elevated the Broncos’ standing within Denver and paved the way for the construction of Mile High Stadium. Without Little, the Broncos likely would have left town.
Thus, Little became “The Franchise.”
For more than five decades, no other rookie was named captain in Denver. The streak ended on Wednesday, when the Broncos announced that first-round quarterback Bo Nix would be a captain in 2024.
“It’s a first for me,” head coach Sean Payton said. “It’s unusual for a rookie to get made captain, and yet by nature that position to some degree is leading. That was something that organically takes place throughout the spring and training camp and goes from there.”
“It’s an honor,” Nix said. “It’s a privilege. I’m excited to be with this group and excited to be a captain. I don’t take it lightly. I know it’s a big deal. It hasn’t happened often, but I’m not going to take it for granted. I have to come into work every single day and just prove that you can be a captain. I’m excited to work with these other guys, and I think it’s good that we can get out there and set the tone. It’s always good to be a captain.”
By all accounts, Nix has done everything right in his first four-plus months as a Bronco. He shows up early. He studies late. He works hard. He rarely makes the same mistake twice.
“He comes to work every day with a demeanor of getting better and I think that’s one of the biggest things that you want out of your quarterback,” wide receiver Courtland Sutton said. “He’s very mature. He’s had a lot of games to put underneath his belt from college. He’s had OTA reps, and he’s had an amazing training camp.”
The big test comes on Sunday.
The Broncos open the season on the road against the Seattle Seahawks. Seattle is a team in flux in many ways, but the environment will be raucous.
“I’ve already been through several atmospheres,” Nix said. “This could be different, but I think having been through that and understanding what a loud environment truly means, I think it’s really important. It’s all about communication. It’s all about being on the same page, keeping it simple and going out there and executing your job. When you do that, usually you can take some of the crowd out of it. It’s definitely going to be the whole game; it’s going to be loud. It’s going to be a great atmosphere.”
Before the rookie’s first game on Sunday, he’ll have to complete his first week of game-planning. The work ethic that helped him earn the ‘C’ on his chest will be tested.
Over the course of the week, the Broncos will narrow down the playbook to what they want to run on Sunday. The week begins by installing the bottom layer of the game plan; the base plays the team will run primarily on first and second downs. These plays aren’t particularly unique, but there are a lot of them.
Those “base-down” plays are what the Broncos implemented on Wednesday.
“Base down first day is tough,” Nix said. “A lot of thinking out there on the field. A lot of base down plays and a lot of plays that are going to be really important for the gameplan that you need to nail down and go ahead and get some reps at.”
As the week progresses, the Broncos will install the more specialized plays they’ll use in particular situations, like third downs or in the red zone.
Despite being a captain, Nix doesn’t have much say in what the offense looks like. Payton and his staff design the offense from week to week.
“I just go in there and do what I’m told,” Nix said. “They’ve been very intrigued with what I’ve been good at in the past and my strengths. They’re trying to play to those. At the same time, he’s been doing this for almost 20 years so he’s going to be doing what he’s comfortable with. It’s my job to go out there and execute what he calls.”
Payton says the final step of the game-planning process will include some input from his quarterback.
“The last meeting we have is Saturday night,” he said. “We’ll dot the plays that the player really likes. If there’s a play that he’s not as comfortable with, I’ll cross it off.”
Eventually, the weekly process of installing a gameplan will become second nature. This week, it’s one of many new experiences for the rookie.
“Each day you have to look into it and find the perspective in life,” Nix said. “Not many people get to wake up with this opportunity. Not many people have this opportunity for a long time. So you definitely want to make the most of it and see if you can’t make it run for a long time.”
The Broncos hope that Nix’s run will last for a long time. They hope that Nix’s impact on the franchise will equal that of Little, whose No. 44 is one of three jersey numbers retired in Denver
But Nix believes there’s a time and place to reflect on the opportunties he’s given and the goals laid in front of him.
“I do think it’s important to stay in the moment,” he said. “Once the season’s finished and you’re allowed some time to debrief, you can look back and kind of look at the year, see what you’ve done, see where you can improve and push forward for more. I feel like so far, we’ve been able to really keep it in perspective, really understand that life is fleeting, life happens fast, and this is just one of the many joys of the journey.”
Nix’s journey begins on Sunday.
The Broncos name their captains
Bo Nix will serve as a captain for the Broncos in 2024, but he isn’t the only one.
The Broncos voted for six captains to lead their team. The six players chosen went to a captains dinner on Monday and were announced on Wednesday. Those six players are
- Quarterback Bo Nix
- Wide receiver Courtland Sutton
- Right guard Quinn Meinerz
- Cornerback Pat Surtain II
- Linebacker Alex Singleton
- Kicker Wil Lutz
Head coach Sean Payton said Sutton received the most votes of any captain.
“Any young team, you’re still counting on experience and leadership,” he said. “He’s one of those guys that I think he ended up with the most votes. “I wouldn’t say it’s just because of his experience. I would say it’s because of his personality. It’s because of how he works. There are so many other traits. Years in the league I don’t think equates necessarily to being a good captain. I think there’s more to in than that, and I think that’s the way that his teammates looked at it.”
Meinerz replaces right tackle Mike McGlinchey as the Broncos’ captain among offensive linemen. Meinerz is the Broncos’ youngest starter among the linemen, but he’s also the highest-paid thanks to a contract extension signed this offseason.
Surtain, Singleton and Lutz are all first-time captains for the Broncos. Singleton was previously captain with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Pat Surtain II gets his deal
After just over a week of negotiations, cornerback Pat Surtain II signed his mega-extension with the Broncos on Wednesday.
“It’s like a huge burden off my shoulders,” Surtain said. “I’m honestly just very relieved from it. Just to be able to sign and seal that deal is a blessing.”
The 24-year-old added four years and $96 million to his contract with the Broncos. He received $77.5 million in guaranteed money. Surtain had two years remaining on his contract. He is now under contract through the 2029 season.
“It’s life changing, honestly, to be able to get this deal done so early in my career,” said Surtain, who is now scheduled for $136 million in career earnings before his 30th birthday. “Some people [aren’t] able to see second contracts. To be able to see that and to be able to have the deal done is a blessing.”
Surtain’s $24 million per year salary is the highest ever for an NFL defensive back. Jaire Alexander of the Green Bay Packers ranks second with a $21 million average salary.
“It means a lot, for sure,” Surtain said of being the new highest-paid defensive back. “At the end of the day, I just focus on doing the best I can do on the field. Being the best version of myself each and every day. I don’t try to allow the pressure to get to me, I build off of it and just play the game that I play and love doing.”
Wide receiver Courtland Sutton wasn’t surprised by the record-setting deal.
“It was inevitable,” he said. “[He] was going to get that bag at some point because Pat is the best corner in the NFL. I don’t care what anybody says. I don’t care about anybody’s lists. I don’t care about none of the sports channels. I don’t care about none of the people that sit up there and talk all day because they watch a whole bunch of TV. I don’t care about none of that. I watch Pat work every single day. I watch Pat go to work and go to battle on Sundays and whatever day we’re playing. He’s proven it. Week in and week out, he’s proven that he’s the best at what he does.”
Surtain is excited to be a team captain, too.
“Being a captain for this team means a lot,” he said. “It shows how much this organization believes in me, this team believes in me, and I don’t take that for granted. I’m going to give everything I have on the field this year.”
Injury Report
The Broncos and Seahawks released an updated injury report ahead of their game on Sunday.
And the Broncos have a clean sheet.
While several players—like cornerback Damarri Mathis, lineman Quinn Bailey and linebacker Drew Sanders—are still on the injured reserve or physically unable to perform lists, the Broncos listed every player on the 53-man roster as healthy on Wednesday.
The Broncos appeared to be healthy exiting the preseason, although some doubts remained about new safety Brandon Jones, who was kept out by a hamstring injury.
Sean Payton says Jones looks good.
“He was good moving out there today,” Payton said. “He’s feeling well. His testing numbers and all the metrics that come back relative to it are going well.”
The Seahawks weren’t so lucky…
Here’s the first version of the Week 1 injury report:
Broncos Injury Report
| Player | Pos. | Injury | Wed. | Thu. | Fri. | Status |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Seahawks Injury Report
| Player | Pos. | Injury | Wed. | Thu. | Fri. | Status |
| Pharaoh Brown | TE | Foot | DNP | |||
| Uchenna Nwosu | LB | Knee | DNP | |||
| Noah Fant | TE | Toe | Limited | |||
| Tyler Lockett | WR | Thigh | Limited | |||
| Rayshawn Jenkins | S | Calf | Limited | |||
| Dre’Mont Jones | LB | Hamstring | Limited |
| BOLD – Indicates change in status; NIR- Indicates not injury related; *– Team did not practice / report is an estimation; |
| STATUS DEFINITIONS: Did not participate (DNP); Limited: means less than 100 percent of a player’s normal repetitions; Full—100 percent of player’s normal repetitions; Out: will not play; Doubtful: Unlikely to play; Questionable: Uncertain to play |
Notes
- The Broncos are 6-point underdogs in Seattle. Only two NFL teams are bigger underdogs than Denver in Week 1.
- The Broncos released their first “unofficial” depth chart of the regular season on Wednesday. It lacked surprises, but there were two notable pieces of news. First, Jarrett Stidham is listed as the second-string quarterback in front of Zach Wilson. Second, Michael Burton and Lil’Jordan Humphrey were both listed despite being on the practice side. This is a sign that both will play on Sunday.
- Broncos Ring-of-Famer Charley Johnson died Tuesday at the age of 85. The Broncos traded for Johnson in 1972. The quarterback led the Broncos to their first wining season in 1973.