Football is a cruel game. One minute you're celebrating a gut-wrenching 33-30 overtime victory over the Buffalo Bills, and the next, your franchise savior is headed for surgery in Alabama. That is the reality for Denver right now. If you came here looking for a standard broncos raiders injury report, you're actually looking at a landscape that has shifted beneath everyone's feet.
The Raiders are already home. Their season ended with a thud and a coaching search. But for the Broncos, who are supposed to be prepping for an AFC Championship game, the "injury report" is essentially a medical drama starring Bo Nix.
The Bo Nix Bombshell
Let's get the big one out of the way. Bo Nix is out.
It happened on the second-to-last play of overtime against Buffalo. A freak deal. Sean Payton confirmed it just hours ago: a fractured bone in his right ankle. Nix is scheduled to see Dr. Norman E. Waldrop III in Birmingham this Tuesday. It’s season-ending.
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Honestly, it’s a massive blow because Nix was playing like a seasoned vet. He finished that Bills game with 279 yards and three scores. He even spoke to the media after the game before the adrenaline wore off and the reality of the fracture set in. Payton tried to keep it light, joking that if he knew Nix had broken that same ankle back in high school and at Auburn, he wouldn't have drafted him. But the room was heavy.
What’s Left of the Broncos Roster?
While Nix is the headline, the rest of the roster is a bit of a jigsaw puzzle.
- Jarrett Stidham: He’s the guy now. He hasn't thrown a real pass all season, but Payton insists "Stiddy" is ready. Stidham has history with the Raiders, too, which makes this whole rivalry dynamic even weirder.
- Dre Greenlaw: There’s some good news here. After missing Weeks 17 and 18 with a hamstring issue, the linebacker was active for the Divisional Round. He looks like he’s back to full strength, which the defense desperately needs.
- John Franklin-Myers: He missed the regular-season finale against the Chargers with a hip injury but suited up against the Bills. He’s playing through pain, basically.
- The Inactives: For those tracking the deep bench, Sam Ehlinger is now the official backup (QB2) while Nix is sidelined. Guys like Reese Taylor and Que Robinson have been staples on the inactive list lately, so don't expect them to suddenly pop up as impact players.
The Raiders’ Medical Mess
The Raiders aren't playing this week, but their injury report from the tail end of the season explains why they’re currently interviewing folks like Jeff Hafley and Kliff Kingsbury for the head job.
Maxx Crosby recently dropped a truth bomb on the "Let's Go!" podcast. He played through a torn meniscus for a huge chunk of the season. The team finally shut him down for the last two games. He’s had surgery and expects to be back by the middle of OTAs, but seeing the face of the franchise on a training table while the team searches for a new identity is... well, it’s very Raiders.
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Then you have the offensive line. Kolton Miller ended the year on IR. Jackson Powers-Johnson was also on IR. It was a revolving door of "who is that?" on the front line by the time January rolled around.
Why This Matters for the Rivalry
Even when they aren't playing each other, the broncos raiders injury report dictates the power balance of the AFC West.
Denver is in "win now" mode with a backup quarterback. The Raiders are in "burn it down" mode with a superstar defensive end recovering from knee surgery.
- Stidham's Revenge: Remember, the Raiders were the ones who moved on from Derek Carr to give Stidham a shot back in 2022. Now, Stidham is the only thing standing between Denver and a Super Bowl.
- Defensive Health: Denver’s defense is finally getting healthy (Greenlaw, Franklin-Myers) at the exact moment their offense lost its engine.
- The 2026 Draft: The Raiders traded Jakobi Meyers to Jacksonville for picks. They are playing the long game. Their "injury report" is less about who plays Sunday and more about who is healthy enough to be traded or kept for the rebuild.
Real Talk on the "Questionable" Tags
In the NFL, "Questionable" usually means "He's playing, but we want the other team to waste time game-planning for his absence."
However, with the Broncos, the stakes are higher. Watch the reports on Nate Adkins and Pat Bryant. They both dealt with late-season knocks (knee and unspecified issues) but were active for the playoffs. If Stidham is going to succeed, he needs those secondary targets to be 100%. He can't just rely on Courtland Sutton to bail him out every play.
Next Steps for Fans
If you're betting or just obsessively refreshing your feed, keep an eye on the Tuesday surgery results for Bo Nix. While he's out for the year, the "success" of that surgery will dictate Denver's entire 2026 offseason strategy.
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For the Raiders side of things, the "injury report" is now the "coaching search tracker." Watch for news on who the new staff brings in for the medical and strength conditioning roles. When a team loses as many starters to IR as Vegas did this year, the weight room usually gets a total overhaul.
Check the official team transactions every Wednesday afternoon. That’s when the real moves happen—when practice squad guys get elevated because a starter's "limited" status in practice turned into a "DNP" (Did Not Participate). If you see a kicker or a backup tackle being promoted on a Friday, something went wrong in the Thursday walkthrough.
Final thought: The Broncos have the talent to survive a Nix absence, but only if the defense remains the "Iron Wall" it’s been since December. Stidham doesn't need to be a hero; he just needs to not be the reason they lose.