Broncos practice on ‘Field of Dreams’ English countryside before facing Jets in London

WARE, U.K. — Pardon those on the Broncos if they stopped at any point during Friday’s practice to admire the scenery.

In preparation for Sunday’s game against the New York Jets at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the Broncos practiced on a field at the Hanbury Manor Marriott Hotel & Country Club in Ware, where they are staying an hour north of London.

“Yes, it’s beautiful,’’ Broncos coach Sean Payton said of the greenery and rolling hills in the background. “It’s picturesque. It’d be hard to describe this football field in the middle of nowhere. ‘Field of Dreams,’ if you will.”

The Broncos practiced Wednesday and Thursday at the Tottenham Training Ground in the London suburb of Enfield and had been scheduled to go there again Friday. But the venue was switched.

“(With) the Friday schedule at home with the linemen and the recovery, this obviously was easy to do logistically,’’ Payton said of his weekly Friday schedule at Broncos Park in which offensive and defensive linemen and outside linebackers do recovery work during a portion of the practice. “This field was remarkable, and so that just made the schedule work a little cleaner.”

The Minnesota Vikings practiced on the field between playing games in Dublin on Sept. 28 and at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last Sunday. Other NFL teams have practiced on the pristine turf at the venue, with goalposts being in place.

Elliss out, Roach questionable

As expected, Broncos outside linebacker Jonah Elliss was ruled out Friday for Sunday’s game.

Elliss did not practice all week due to ribs and shoulder injuries. Payton declined to comment on injuries to Elliss, who suffered a fractured scapula bone in his right shoulder in Denver’s 31-7 playoff loss at Buffalo last January and had surgery.

The Broncos listed as questionable for the game defensive tackle Malcolm Roach, who returned to practice this week after being on injured reserve for the first five games with a calf injury.

For Roach to play, he would need to be activated off injured reserve Saturday. A source told The Denver Gazette that is “likely” to happen.

The likely move would then be Roach replacing guard Ben Powers on the 53-man roster. A source has said Powers will be put on injured reserve after suffering a torn biceps muscle in last Sunday’s 21-17 win at Philadelphia and having surgery Monday. He is out until at least December.

“He’s doing well,’’ Payton said of Roach, who was a limited participant in practice Wednesday and a full participant Thursday and Friday.

Roach, Denver’s top reserve defensive lineman, would add additional depth to the Broncos, who are No. 2 in the NFL in scoring defense and No. 5 in total defense.

With Elliss out, rookie outside linebacker Que Robinson is expected to make his NFL regular-season debut after being inactive the first five games.

“He’s doing well,’’ Payton said of the 6-foot-4, 243-pound Robinson, who could play a role on special teams. “He’s long, he’s disciplined.”

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton speaks during an NFL football press conference at Tottenham Hotspur training ground in London, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Nix, wife expecting couple’s first child

The wife of Broncos quarterback Bo Nix announced on social media Friday that the couple is expecting their first child.

Izzy Nix posted a picture of her holding hands with Nix, who appeared to be holding ulstrasound images. Izzy posted a message reading, “Nix, party of 3!!!”

Izzy Nix further captioned the photo with a Bible verse: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.” Jeremiah 1:5.

The two have been married since 2022. They met at Auburn, where he played quarterback from 2019-21 and she was a cheerleader.

Leicester Panthers visit

With Payton having been a quarterback for the 1988 Leicester Panthers in the now-defunct UK Budweiser National League, he invited the Leicester Panthers under-17 team to Friday’s practice. Four of his former English teammates also came.

“We’ve all gotten older,’’ Payton quipped.

As part of the Panthers’ visit, the Broncos donated 16 Riddell helmets to the team and Riddell donated 16 pairs of shoulder pads. The helmet donation is part of the Broncos’ “All In All Covered” program in which they have donated 15,000 helmets to Colorado high schools.

“It’s our international program for the helmets,’’ said Broncos owner Carrie Walton Penner, who helped hand them out to Panthers players.

Broncos owner Carrie Walton Penner hands out helmets to the Leicester Panthers in London as part of the ALL IN. ALL COVERED. Photo by Chris Tomasson/The Denver Gazette

Payton critical of field-goal issue

In Minnesota’s 21-17 win over Cleveland last Sunday, a 51-yard field goal by Will Reichard early in the fourth quarter was no good after his boot hit a camera wire. But there was no challenge and Reichard wasn’t awarded a retry.

“You can actually challenge that,’’ Payton said. “Then you hope the powers to be learn from that. I get the angles, but that’s not a new Tottenham (Hotspur Stadium) thing, that’s an NFL thing. They want to get those angles, but when you’re in charge of that camera and you’re kicking a field goal, you probably want to be out of the trajectory (of the kick).”

Briefly

Asked about the week of being in England and playing the Jets on Sunday, Payton said last week was “the challenging routine” with the Broncos defeating Cincinnati 28-3 on Monday Night Football on Sept. 29 and then preparing for a short week to play at Philadelphia. “This week is down pat,’’ he said. … Despite their 0-5 record, the Jets were lauded by Payton. “Obviously they’re running the ball extremely well, really well,’’ he said of Breece Hall having 351 yards rushing in five games and quarterback Justin Fields having 204 in four games. … A reporter asked Broncos defensive tackle John Franklin-Myers what’s the “most English thing” he has done this week. “I’ve had some fish and chips,” he said. “Does that count?”