Broncos coach Sean Payton suggests Bo Nix will sit out Denver's preseason finale

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Denver and Kansas City's marquee “Monday Night Football” opener on Sept. 14 will feature two quarterbacks coming off devastating injuries and long layoffs.

Broncos coach Sean Payton suggested Wednesday that Bo Nix will sit out Denver's preseason finale Friday night against the Minnesota Vikings. His comments followed by a few hours word out of the Chiefs' camp that Patrick Mahomes won't play in K.C.'s preseason finale against the Seattle Seahawks on Friday night.

Mahomes is making his comeback after tearing ligaments in his knee in December and hasn't played in the preseason.

Nix is coming off two surgeries on his right ankle, which he broke in Denver's 33-30 overtime win against the Buffalo Bills in the playoffs last January.

Unlike Mahomes, Nix played in the preseason, completing 6 of 9 passes for 76 yards and a touchdown against Green Bay last week.

After that game, Nix was asked if he felt he needed to appear in another preseason game ahead of the opener at Kansas City.

“I think as a competitor, that's an easy answer: I would like to play as much as I can,” Nix said. “But I have no control over that.”

Either way, Nix said he's feeling good about being ready for the Chiefs.

“I've played a lot of football. I feel like I can walk into any game and be fine,” he said.

Payton doesn't like talking about who will and who won't play in a preseason game, and when asked about Nix's status for Friday night's game, he said, “We'll see, I mean, do I talk to you guys tomorrow?" Told no, Payton continued, “All right, he probably won't play in this game.”

While he’s been on or ahead of schedule in his recovery, and taken part in the entire offseason program and training camp, it was always expected that Mahomes would not appear in any of the three tune-ups ahead of the regular season as he aims for a return Sept. 14 against Denver.

“It’s the amount of time they’ve said from the beginning, that if I did everything the right way, I would be ready to play Week 1,” Mahomes said.

Notes: Former Broncos QB Jake Plummer served as a coach and mentor at the USAA Salute to Service NFL boot camp Wednesday at team headquarters. “Anytime I can be around the military and people serving our country it brings me back to my close relationship with Pat Tillman and how grateful I was to have been his friend and know him and then also to understand what all these people are sacrificing.” Tillman and Plummer played together in Arizona. Tillman died on April 22, 2004, from friendly fire in the mountains of Afghanistan while serving as an Army Ranger.

AP Sports Writer Dave Skretta contributed to this story.

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