Nix Nixed Nik: Bo Bullied Bonitto in Heated Denver Broncos Practice
On Tuesday, it was a heated Denver Broncos practice in which Bo Nix was knocked down. He wasn't happy about it and pulled Nik Bonitto off a pile a few plays later.
Bo Nix pulled Nik Bonitto off a pile after the quarterback was knocked down in a heated Denver Broncos practice on Tuesday.
Nix has that dog in him, as the kids say.
And the competitive spirit is a good sign for the Broncos.
Bo Nix Knocked Down, Doesn’t Stay Down
In the NFL, where the quarterback is the most important player on every team and usually the highest-paid too, defenders know touching the QB is a big no-no.
But Denver’s defense is physical and they need to get their work in, just like everyone else.
On Tuesday, Bo Nix threw a complete pass to Courtland Sutton over Riley Moss and the offense celebrated, raising tensions.
A few plays later, multiple defenders rushed from the outside and up the middle, with one of them not only touching but knocking Bo Nix down.
According to reporters who were there, Nix fired the ball at the Malcolm Roach in disgust as Roach celebrated.
A few plays later, things got really chippy.
Nix threw an interception to Alex Singleton who rumbled down the field but was stripped by running back RJ Harvey and Harvey jumped on the ball.
Both sides jumped on the pile and got physical, which is when Nix pulled Nik Bonitto off the pile by the leg. Bonitto had to be restrained by teammates and offensive tackle Calvin Throckmorton came away from the pile bleeding.
Bo Nix threw a pick and a scrum started among the linemen.
— Parker Gabriel (@ParkerJGabriel) August 18, 2026
Nix ran ran to the pile and grabbed Nik Bonitto by the leg trying to pull him off the pile. Took a minute to separate the sides. Most heated I’ve seen in the Sean Payton era.
Calvin Throckmorton was bleeding.
Bo Nix has That Dog in Him
We know Bo Nix has that fire, that dog in him.
We saw it in his rookie season when he got into a yelling match with Sean Payton on the sideline.
And he unleashed that fiery nature on his teammates.
Roach is 6'3" and 290 pounds, while Nik Bonitto is an athletic freak of nature at 6'3" and 240 himself. But Nix wasn't backing down from either of them.
“I love it. It’s football," Nix said after practice. "It’s getting me ready for the games coming up, and it’s a physical practice out there played by physical people. It got intense, and we were just really enjoying it and sometimes in the dog days of summer practice gets long and the intensity runs high."
It's not the first time Nix has been knocked down this camp. A few weeks ago, it was D.J. Jones who got to him.
"Of course, Bo got knocked down," Jones said to the media. "But I mean, we play physical. You can't slow down for nobody."
Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph wasn't happy that his guys hit Bo, and there's no doubt Sean Payton got on Joseph for it happening, too.
"It gets competitive obviously and guys are rushing...and sometimes they get too close," Joseph said on Tuesday. "We simply remind them. But Bo's our quarterback and we don't want anyone near Bo."
If you're watching Hard Knocks this season, the same kind of thing happened in their training camp.
In Episode 2 of this season, which follows the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks' preparation, Derick Hall merely got close to Sam Darnold. He didn't even touch the quarterback, let alone knock him down.
But Seattle head coach Mike Macdonald pulled Hall—one of the team's best defenders, and certainly one of their most outspoken—from the drill. Hall wasn't happy.
In Denver, it's all the more important that Nix isn't tackled during practice because he's coming off the ankle injury.
And everyone in the Mile High City knows if he was healthy in that AFC Championship Game, Denver would've won, not lost.
After the "melee" ensued, Nix nor Bonitto apologized to one another on the practice field, per Bo.
But they'll be alright, just like Hall and Macdonald were for Seattle.
The last time the Broncos won the Super Bowl in 2015, the slogan for the year was "Iron Sharpens Iron."
This chippiness in practice reminds me of just that.
Ultimately, these guys are all working to improve their personal game, their group (defense or offense), and the entire team. Every one of them is extremely competitive. And all of them are hungry for more playoff wins and ultimately to win a Super Bowl.
Like Sean Payton said last week of the preseason, "You want to win everything."
That includes every drill and even every snap at practice.
In two days, they'll look to get their second win of the preseason with the Green Bay Packers in town. That game kicks off at 7 p.m. MT on Friday, Aug. 21 at Empower Field at Mile High Stadium.
It'll be Nix's first game action since breaking his ankle in the Divisional Round win over the Buffalo Bills in January.
He'll be hungry. That dog must eat.
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Rich Kurtzman was born and raised in Denver Colorado and attended Colorado State University in Fort Collins in the aughts. He's been a professional writer since 2011, covering Colorado State football and men's basketball, as well as the Denver Broncos, for many outlets. Current Denver Broncos work can be found on Mile High Sports. Previous credits include CBS Denver and The USA TODAY Sports Media Group.
PFR links
Bo Nix, Nik Bonitto, D.J. Jones, Sean Payton, RJ Harvey, Courtland Sutton, Malcolm Roach
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