John Elway reacts to Broncos naming Bo Nix starting quarterback

Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton named rookie Bo Nix the team’s starting quarterback after Wednesday’s practice session.

About 20 minutes south of Broncos Park Powered by CommonSpirit, former quarterback and general manager John Elway was competing in the BMW Championship pro-am at the Castle Pines Golf Club on Wednesday.

The news of Nix being named Denver’s starter was relayed to Elway, who won two Super Bowls as a quarterback and a third as an executive with the franchise.

“I think that, obviously, Bo is tremendously talented,” Elway told media members at Castle Pines. “He’s played a lot of college football and so he’s ahead of the curb when it comes to that. And I think that Sean Payton will be great for him.”

Elway acknowledged that Nix will have his “ups and downs,” but he believes Payton is the perfect coach to mentor the young quarterback.

Twelve years after retiring from playing, Elway returned to the Broncos as an executive in 2011. He had great success in free agency, bringing in not only Peyton Manning but also Emmanuel Sanders, Wes Welker, T.J. Ward, Aqib Talib and DeMarcus Ware, among others.

Elway’s drafts weren’t quite as successful, particularly at quarterback. Elway drafted Brock Osweiler, Paxton Lynch and Drew Lock, but none of them panned out. Elway’s failure to find a Manning replacement played a role in his decision to step down from GM duties in 2021. He remained a consultant in 2022 before stepping away from the team in 2023.

George Paton replaced Elway as Denver’s general manager in 2021 and he swung big one year later, acquiring Russell Wilson in a blockbuster trade with the Seattle Seahawks. Wilson didn’t work out, either, so coach Sean Payton cut him this spring and drafted Nix to replace him.

Nix is now set to become the Broncos’ 14th starting quarterback since Manning’s retirement. When the team goes on the road to face the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 8 , Nix will make franchise history as Denver’s first rookie quarterback since Elway (1983) to start in Week 1.