ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) \u2014 Sean Payton said at his season-ending news conference Tuesday that Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix had a preexisting ankle condition that made a fracture inevitable.<\/p>\n
Nix broke a bone in his right ankle<\/a> on Denver\u2019s game-winning drive in the Broncos\u2019 33-30 overtime victory over the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round of the playoffs.<\/p>\n Nix flew to Birmingham, Alabama, last week for an operation performed by Dr. Norman E. Waldrop III, a foot and ankle specialist at the Andrews Sports Medicine and Orthopedic Center.<\/p>\n Nix watched from a suite Sunday as backup Jarrett Stidham took his place in Denver\u2019s 10-7 loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC championship game<\/a>.<\/p>\n On Tuesday, the Broncos\u2019 brass provided the fullest accounting yet of Nix\u2019s injury, with Payton saying a preexisting issue made the fracture \u201ca matter of when.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat was found was a condition that was predisposed \u2014 they always find a little more when they go in,\u201d Payton said. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t a matter of if, it was a matter of when. When you look at the play and you\u2019re trying to evaluate it \u2014 the operating surgeon said that this was going to happen sooner than later. Now, you go about the rehab, proper orthotics, all those things.\u201d<\/p>\n Payton said he has no concerns about Nix\u2019s health going forward even though Nix has had several ankle operations going back to high school.<\/p>\n \u201cSo listen, he\u2019ll rehab his tail off and get ready and get back to being healthy,\u201d Payton said. \u201cI think for someone who runs with the ball, I think he\u2019s done a pretty good job of protecting himself, not all the time, but for the most part, he\u2019s done a pretty good job of sliding and understanding playing for another day.\u201d <\/p>\n General manager George Paton said Nix is tracking to return in May when the Broncos begin organized team activities.<\/p>\n Also Tuesday, Payton fired offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi<\/a>, wide receivers coach Keary Colbert and cornerbacks coach Addison Lynch. Lombardi and Payton had worked together for 15 years.<\/p>\n Just before going to the lectern for his wrapup news conference, Payton said he saw Nix cruising around team headquarters on his medical scooter, which he\u2019ll use until he graduates to crutches and then a walking boot.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was just up above us here,\u201d Payton said from the atrium of the Broncos\u2019 suburban headquarters. \u201cI said, \u2018What are you doing? Getting your scooter laps in?\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cYou have to know him. He\u2019s fidgety to begin with,\u201d Payton said. \u201cHe might have just been getting his scooter laps. He was up there, like, in an area he\u2019d never be in department-wise. He\u2019s handling it like a pro. Man, I\u2019m sure there\u2019s disappointment for him to have to watch\u201d on Sunday.<\/p>\n Nix led the Broncos (15-4) to a franchise record-tying 14 wins in the regular season and their first playoff triumph since Super Bowl 50 a decade ago. He\u2019s won 25 games in two seasons and has an NFL-best 11 game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime during that span.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s difficult to get as far as he brought us, and then also to see one of his contemporaries, someone in his draft class who he would have loved to have competed against, advance,\u201d Payton said of Patriots QB Drake Maye, who was Nix\u2019s predraft training partner. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a tough deal.\u201d<\/p>\n Fourth-down fiasco<\/p>\n