Lock finally steps on field
QB who was last rookie to sign a contract didn’t plan on missing time
The Broncos’ first training camp practice was over when quarterback Drew Lock’s work had just begun.
Teammates walked into the locker room Thursday afternoon at UCHealth Training Center while Lock, a 2019 second-round draft choice, completed a series of timed onfield sprints. No complaints from Lock, though, with his makeup conditioning test one final hurdle following lengthy contract negotiations that nearly kept him out of training camp.
“I was anxious to get out on the field,” Lock said after practice.
Lock remained the final unsigned player from Denver’s rookie class when the Broncos initially reported Wednesday morning. He was not permitted to join the team until his contract was finalized. Yet the collective anxiety among Broncos Country proved short-lived. Denver and Lock’s representation at Creative Artists Agency reached a deal late Wednesday that halted a potential holdout.
But it appears Lock never intended to miss practice in order to secure a salary that eclipsed rookie offensive lineman Dalton Risner (picked one spot before Luck at No. 41). Per the industry website Spotrac, Lock agreed to a fouryear deal that will pay him $7,010,817; or $131,000 less than Risner on a per-year basis. Lock didn’t let that discrepancy derail his plans.
“The Broncos and my agency were working together, but I had told my agency beforehand that if it got to the point where I was missing practice then there was no chance we were going on with it,” Lock said. “I was going to sign a deal and I was going to get here because the most important thing to me was getting out here.”
The Broncos drafted Lock to compete with Kevin Hogan to back up Joe Flacco in 2019. The opening of Broncos training camp demonstrated the job won’t be simply handed to Lock. He was given 17 snaps with the third-team offense in team scrimmage periods Thursday while Hogan and Flacco recorded 22 snaps each.
But Lock also flashed the brilliance which made him a coveted draft prospect, in
cluding an on-the-run completion to wide receiver Fred Brown in which Lock rolled right and connected with a nifty sidearm delivery. Broncos coach Vic Fangio said he is seeking “improvement in all areas” from Lock over the course of camp.
“Command of the offense, command of the line of scrimmage, decisions on where to start the ball, how quickly he can make those decisions — everything,” Fangio said. “Just become a quarterback.”
Lock’s training camp participation eliminates a potentially harmful distraction and allows his football development to continue unencumbered. The next few weeks of practice and preseason games will help determine how close Lock might be in taking the next step.
“It was really good to be back out here with everybody and kind of get back in the swing of things,” Lock said. “I was out here really digesting everything and taking every single rep in. To be able to go back inside and watch it all over again and learn some more will be good for me.”
Kyle Fredrickson: kfredrickson@denverpost.com or @kylefredrickson