Nik Bonitto continues to ascend the pass-rushing ranks.
The Denver Broncos edge menace made his second consecutive Pro Bowl in 2025 and finished fourth in Defensive Player of the Year voting -- a year after landing ninth. Bonitto finished with a career-high 14 sacks, 28 QB hits, and added 14 tackles for loss. However, he ended the season with just six sacks in the final 11 tilts -- 3.5 of those sacks coming in two games versus the Raiders -- signaling there is plenty more meat left on the bone.
"I want to continue to grow and be a better player than I was the previous year,'' Bonitto told . "Whatever comes with that comes with it, but I just want to continue to get better."
Bonitto spent the better part of the season wearing a wrap on his injured wrist, which he had surgery on following the campaign. The 26-year-old said the injury could have had an impact on his play down the stretch.
"It was a little bit of everything really,'' Bonitto said. "It was just trying to work through the whole wrist thing. Not being able to have ... wearing the cast, it kind of takes away a lot of stuff you can do. Hard to shed; hard to grab; all those things."
The edge rusher also added that he's seen a change in how offenses are approaching him.
"It was game-plan stuff too,'' Bonitto said. "Getting doubled more, getting chipped and cut more. It was all those things in a combination where it was a learning process for me as I continue to grow in my career."
Bonitto earned his four-year, $106 million contract extension last September. Now the athletic edge is out to prove he's worth the big money. If he can stay healthy, another career high in sacks should be on the way.
