As if two straight losses to open his NFL career weren't enough, Denver Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix is now down his starting right tackle, Mike McGlinchey, who landed on injured reserve with a knee injury.
Set to replace the $87.5 million McGlinchey for the foreseeable future is second-year former undrafted free agent Alex Palczewski, entrusted with protecting the frontside of the franchise signal-caller.
How does that weigh on Nix? It doesn't. His demeanor remains unfazed.
“Those guys practice really hard in training camp. They see the calls and they’re in meetings, so it doesn’t necessarily affect us a whole lot," he told reporters Wednesday. "Obviously, it’s a new guy and we have to make sure he’s hearing the calls and make sure that you bring him up to speed as best as you can and help him out and not leave him out to dry. I think, especially ‘Palcho’ with his experience, he’ll do a really good job of keeping that O-line going and continue that trajectory of it going.”
A versatile lineman, Palczewski joined the Broncos having made 65 starts — 49 at tackle, 16 at guard — across six seasons for the University of Illinois, earning third-team All-Big Ten honors in 2019 and second-team All-Big Ten honors in 2022.
The 6-foot-6, 314-pound tackle was given a generous $80,000 guaranteed to tuck under the wing of Denver head coach and noted OL enthusiast Sean Payton, whose pet project is finally ready for his closeup.
"‘Palcho’ is one of those guys that he’s been competing," Payton said Wednesday. "We’ll be smart relative to what we’re doing protection wise, but he’s played in a lot of football games. I know he’ll be excited about his first start.”
Palczewski's big debut will come on the road in Week 3 against a stout albeit banged-up Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense. And things won't get easier if he passes that test — the similarly tough New York Jets, Las Vegas Raiders, and Los Angeles Chargers' defenses are to follow in the weeks ahead.
"There's going to be a level of nerves, but I did six years at Illinois, so I got plenty of starts under my belt," Palczewski said, via the official team website. "Obviously it's the NFL and there's a lot of really good players, but I'm just going to do the best job I can, work on my technique and just know that I want to give as much as effort as I can to protect the guys around me and play for the guys to the left and right of me."
