RYPIEN WITH FIRST TEAM AS QB LOCK IS INJURED
Broncos quarterback Drew Lock did not practice Wednesday as he deals with a rib injury.
During the 30 minutes of practice that was open to the media, Lock had his helmet on but did not take part in the team stretch. When the quarterbacks began their individual drills and started throwing to receivers, Lock was a spectator save for taking some snaps from the shotgun.
“He’s made good progress since
Monday morning until Wednesday morning,” coach Vic Fangio said before practice. “We’ll see how much progress he continues to make throughout the week, and see how it goes.”
Fangio described the injury as a rib “bruise/ strain, something to that effect. Nothing’s broken or anything.”
Lock appeared to be injured in the second quarter of Sunday’s 3712 loss at Las Vegas when he was hit by Raiders defensive end Arden Key. Later in the first half, Lock was hit below the chin by defensive end Clelin Ferrell ( who was penalized).
Despite being in obvious discomfort, Lock did not leave the game. He finished 23- of- 47 through the air for 257 yards, with one touchdown and four interceptions.
Brett Rypien took the first- team practice snaps on Wednesday; he started the Broncos’ Week 4 win at the New York Jets. Jeff Driskel ( roster) and Blake Bortles ( practice squad) are also under contract. Driskel, signed to a two
year deal in the offseason, finished up the Week 2 Pittsburgh loss after Lock was injured in the first quarter. Driskel was then benched for Rypien in the fourth quarter of the Week 3 loss to Tampa Bay.
Wednesday marked Lock’s first missed practice since returning from a right shoulder injury to play against New England on Oct. 18. Since he joined the Broncos, this is Lock’s third notable injury. He sprained his right wrist in August 2019 ( was placed on injured reserve for 10 weeks) and had the aforementioned right shoulder issue ( missing two games).
Fangio said Lock’s availability for Sunday’s Week 11 home game against Miami ( 6- 3) will be a weighted decision based on what the coaches see from him this week.
“How much does he practice, how does he feel, and when he is practicing, how does he look?” Fangio said. “All of that will factor into the final decision… We do want him to get a significant amount of reps at some point during the week, so it’s a little early ( to determine his availability). We do want him to practice, though — we don’t want him going into the game with very limited snaps or none.”
The Broncos have started three quarterbacks this season: Lock in Weeks 1 and 2, Driskel in Week 3, Rypien in Week 4 and
Lock again in Weeks 6- 10. Inside linebacker Alexander Johnson said that if Rypien plays Sunday, the locker room can’t let the recent inconsistencies at the position — Denver has started five quarterbacks in two seasons under Fangio — affect their mindset against the Dolphins.
“We can only really control what we ( as individuals) can control at the end of the day,” Johnson said. “So, whoever we have in, we’re confident that they’ll be able to do their job. And we’ve got to be able to control what we can control on our side of the ball as well.”
Miami coach Brian Flores said his team is preparing for both quarterbacks, and noted the favored Dolphins aren’t looking past Denver regardless of who’s under center.
“They’re both good players,” Flores said. “Rypien went in there and got them in a victory in the Jets game and played well and obviously Drew Lock has played well, also, and is talented and can make every throw and has plenty of guys to throw it to. It’s going to be a tough test against whichever quarterback we’re playing against, and we’re going to have to prepare the right way, do a good job with our communication and play good team football.”