Two years ago, the Denver Broncos opened their season in Seattle with quarterback Russell Wilson making his debut in orange and blue after 10 seasons with the Seahawks.
The Broncos return to Lumen Field on Sunday for their 2024 opener, this time with rookie Bo Nix, their first-round pick out of Oregon, calling the signals.
Nix will become the 14th player to start at the position for the Broncos since Peyton Manning retired after winning the Super Bowl following the 2015 season.
And he’ll be the first rookie QB to start for Denver since John Elway in 1983.
“There’s a lot of pressure on (Bo’s) shoulders,” Broncos veteran offensive lineman Mike McGlinchey said. “Everyone wants him to succeed greatly here, but it doesn’t mean that he has to press and do something special every single day. He just has to do his job.”
While the Broncos are still paying Wilson ($85 million in dead money on the salary cap starting with a $53 million bill for 2024, then $32 million next year), the plan is to be playing Nix.
Nix started 61 games in college at Auburn and Oregon, an NCAA record for a quarterback. He was 23 of 30 for 205 yards and two touchdowns in two preseason appearances, leading the Broncos to scores on six of seven possessions.
That’s why he not only got the starting nod from coach Sean Payton, but was also named one of the Broncos’ captains by his teammates. He’ll be the first rookie captain for the franchise since Hall of Fame running back Floyd Little in 1967.
“It’s a privilege, an honor to be with this group,” Nix said. ” … I don’t take it lightly. I know it’s a big deal, hasn’t happened often, but I don’t take it for granted. I’ve got to come to work every single day and just prove you can be the captain.”
Despite some impressive performances, Nix has never defeated an opponent from Seattle, going 0-3 against the University of Washington in his two seasons with the Ducks.
“It’s going to be loud,” Payton said of the crowd Sunday at Lumen Field. “I would imagine there will be some similarities to when Oregon goes to Washington and they’re playing in front of however many thousand people.”
The Seahawks will also have a new look under Mike Macdonald, 37, as they go from the oldest coach in the NFL (Pete Carroll, age 72), to the youngest.
Macdonald coordinated Baltimore’s defense last season when it led the league in sacks (60) and fewest points allowed (16.5 per game) and was tied for first in takeaways (31, with the New York Giants). He’s been praised — and cursed — by peers for confounding even the most advanced minds in the game. It’s one of the things that drew Seahawks general manager John Schneider to Macdonald.
“We’re always trying to push the envelope. We want people chasing us,” Macdonald said. “So to kind of get to the mentality of we’re not copying anybody, it’s going to be our style of play, it’s going to be our team, our way of doing things, never satisfied with where we’re at, no complacency. Kind of a relentless pursuit of creating the vision that we want to create. I think that kind of paints a nice picture.”
The Seahawks overhauled their system on the offensive side of the ball, too. New coordinator Ryan Grubb helped guide the University of Washington to the national title game last season, and decided he belonged in the Pacific Northwest after initially packing to join head coach Kalen DeBoer in a move to replace Nick Saban at Alabama.
“I know we kept it pretty vanilla during the preseason on both sides of the ball,” Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf said. “But Grubb is known for his explosive plays down the field, so just looking forward to him opening up a playbook just so we can exploit defenses and push the ball down the field.”
The Broncos didn’t list anyone on their injury report Wednesday. The Seahawks only expect to be without linebacker Uchenna Nwosu (knee) and tight end Pharaoh Brown (foot) on Sunday.
–Field Level Media