The Denver Broncos had their first real fight of training camp on Day 13 of practice.
An initial skirmish was started by rookie tight end Justin Joly, according to KUSA-TV's Mike Klis. A few plays later, Joly caught a pass and was "de-cleated" by rookie linebacker Taurean York, much to the delight of Denver's defense.
Things only heated up from there.
Later in practice, defensive lineman Malcolm Roach and outside linebacker Nik Bonitto collapsed the pocket so much that quarterback Bo Nix was knocked down. That marked the second time this summer that Roach has been involved in Nix going to the ground, and the quarterback was "PISSED" and threw the ball, according to DNVR's Zac Stevens. (Defenders are not allowed to make contact with the quarterback during practice.)
Bo Nix barreled into on the first play and knocked down. Nix was hot. Threw the ball at Malcolm Roach and yelled as Roach celebrated.
— Parker Gabriel (@ParkerJGabriel) August 18, 2026
Twice in camp Roach has been involved in Nix getting hit.
Tempers were flaring and Bonitto was sent to the sideline to cool off. Fortunately, Nix was fine and connected with Courtland Sutton one play later. Shortly after that, Nix threw an interception to linebacker Alex Singleton. The ball was stripped on Singleton's return, and a "melee" ensued, according to Klis. An angry Nix was held back by teammates after the QB pulled Bonitto off a pile, according to Stevens.
First real fight of training camp.
— Zac Stevens (@ZacStevens) August 18, 2026
HUGE pile on the ground.
Bo Nix (angry from getting sacked and taken to the ground earlier) grabbed Nik Bonitto’s leg and pulled him off the pile.
Nik then got very angry and was held back by multiple teammates.
Bo Nix threw a pick and a scrum started among the linemen.
— Parker Gabriel (@ParkerJGabriel) August 18, 2026
Nix ran ran to the pile and grabbed Nik Bonitto by the leg trying to pull him off the pile. Took a minute to separate the sides. Most heated I’ve seen in the Sean Payton era.
Calvin Throckmorton was bleeding.
The dust-up left backup offensive lineman Calvin Trockmorton bleeding on his face, and he went into the locker room with trainers with an ice pack above his left eye, according to Klis.
That was the first real fight of the summer for the Broncos, and perhaps the biggest fight of the Sean Payton era in Denver. One can only imagine the coach won't be happy about it.
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This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: Fight breaks out at Broncos practice: Bo Nix angry; lineman bloodied