Lock hopes to play Sunday
Broncos quarterback Drew Lock returned to practice in a limited fashion Thursday, which represented a positive step toward starting Sunday against Miami.
“I’m feeling better every day,” said Lock, who sat out Wednesday’s practice. “It’s been a good process so far with the doctors and all of the trainers here. I got to go out and throw the ball. It’s all I could ask for ( Thursday). I was excited and ready to get back out there and throw it and it was feeling good.”
During the 30 minutes of practice open to media, Lock took part in the team stretch, tossed soft passes to the other quarterbacks and received shotgun snaps. It was clearly a be- cautious- butstilldo- something workout. Before practice, coach Vic Fangio said the plan was for Lock and Brett Rypien to split team- period snaps.
“I think ( Lock is) getting better,” offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur said after practice. “He did some work ( Thursday), but we’ll just have to see what the rest of the week brings. He’s obviously trending toward playing better than ( Wednesday).”
Lock reiterated he didn’t come close to leaving last week’s game at Las Vegas, but was “definitely sore,” Monday morning.
“I was feeling it ( during the game), but you play football your whole life, you get twisted ankles and a bruise here and a bruise there,” he said. “How I was raised ( was), ‘ You’re tough, you’re going to go out and play until they drag you off the field.”
Asked if he will be able to play Sunday, Lock said: “I would like to be. I’m going to take it day- by- day with these doctors and trainers and even the coaches. I’ll let them make a decision on whether they want to play me or not. Obviously, I’ll give my opinion and it’s, ‘ I want to play.’
“In the end, it’s not 100% up to me.”
What is 100% up to Lock: Playing better, period.
Lock threw four interceptions at Las Vegas, giving him 10 ( all in the five games since his return from a shoulder injury) for the year, tied for third- most in the NFL.
Shurmur punted on a question about how he balances being the play- caller and providing critical feedback with being a psychologist and making sure his struggling quarterback stays positive.
“As a play- caller, you’re trying to do the right things to get the team in the end zone,” he said. “… Everybody has to make good decisions. He has to remain aggressive, but efficient.”
The Broncos have shown an ability to produce chunk plays — 51 passes of at least 16 yards and 17 rushes of at least 12 yards — but have been consistently inefficient.
At the root of the struggles, Lock pointed to turnovers ( league- high 21), avoiding thirdandlong ( 59 of the Broncos’ 122 third- down plays have required eight or more yards to go) and “maximizing our first- down play” ( they are 31st at 4.71 yards per first- down snap).
“There are a lot of little, intricate things that go on in football that are biting us in the butt right now,” he said.
If Lock can’t play Sunday, it
will be his third injury since joining the Broncos. He missed the first half of 2019 ( wrist) and two games this year ( shoulder) and is aware of the durability talk.
“Anyone that’s hurt in this league realizes the longer you’re not playing, the faster you get forgotten about,” he said. “It’s a profession and a job. If you’re not able to do your job, technically you’re not helping your teammates out and that’s the worst part for me.”
Should the Broncos turn to Rypien, at least he has game experience.
Rypien played the final series of the Week 3 loss to Tampa Bay when Jeff Driskel was benched. Four nights later, Rypien was
19- of- 31 passing for 242 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions in the Broncos’ 3728 win over the New York Jets. He has served as the Broncos’ No. 2 quarterback since Lock’s return.
“That was a very valuable experience,” Rypien said. “I proved to myself I could go out there and get a win and I obviously learned a lot. There were some ups, some downs in the fourth quarter and ( we) had to fight back from some adversity. A lot of good lessons to learn from that game and it will definitely help me going forward.”