After announcing rookie Bo Nix would start the season at quarterback, Broncos head coach Sean Payton didn’t feel like marking the occasion with pomp and circumstance.
“We didn’t have cake and candles,” Payton told ESPN.com’s Jeff Legwold on Aug. 21, noting he simply told Nix and backup Jarrett Stidham prior to practice.
Nix doesn’t need more cake and candles. He’s had 24 birthdays, significant for a rookie. Per ESPN Stats and Information, when Denver visits Seattle on Sunday (4:05 p.m. ET, CBS), he’ll become the fifth-oldest rookie to start a season at quarterback since 1950, behind Chris Weinke, Brandon Weeden, Roger Staubach and Ray Nagel. Nix also will become the first rookie since Hall of Famer John Elway (1983) to start a season for the Broncos.
But don’t expect Nix to line up behind his offensive guard. He has a maturity about him, Payton said, and knows he has plenty of room for growth.
Payton told Dianna Russini last month he tried to fool the Las Vegas Raiders in order to secure Nix as his first-round selection in the 2024 draft.
Nix’s counterpart Sunday at Lumen Field will be Geno Smith. Smith is only nine years older than Nix, despite entering the league in 2013.