With Bryce Callahan on injured reserve with a knee injury, the Broncos’ next man up at nickel is someone with both experience and an eagerness to re-earn a starting job in the NFL.
Nate Hairston is likely to take over the position in the Broncos’ sub-packages in Dallas on Sunday. He played the final 15 snaps at nickel when Callahan went down in the fourth quarter last Sunday. A former fifth-round pick by the Colts, Hairston was the Colts’ starting nickel as a rookie in 2017 and had an interception and five passes defensed in 14 games.
But it’s been a rocky road since then, with an injury in 2018, a trade in 2019 and a release by the Jets in 2020 all leading him to Denver last December after he spent much of the fall on the Ravens’ practice squad.