Broncos’ Lock activated but will he start?
Clowney, Reed expected to play for banged-up Seattle
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Denver Broncos activated rookie quarterback Drew Lock off injured reserve Saturday and waived rookie quarterback Brett Rypien, but the team still isn’t naming Lock the starter against the Chargers.
Lock spent the first three months of the season on IR after sustaining a thumb injury in a preseason game against San Francisco on Aug. 19.
In three preseason appearances, the second-round pick (42nd) from the University of Missouri completed 31 of 51 passes (61 percent) for 245 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He also ran three times for 28 yards.
Lock threw for the second-most yards (12,193) and third-most touchdowns (99) in SEC history during his four-year college career.
Lock got about three-fourths of the snaps at practice this week with Brandon Allen getting the rest. Allen has started the last three games, going 1-2, after veteran Joe Flacco (neck) went on IR.
Still, coach Vic Fangio has declined to say whether Lock will start Sunday when the Broncos host the Chargers, a delay that could be seen as a motivational ploy for Lock, gamesmanship with his opponent or even a sign that he’s not sold on a switch to the raw rookie.
SEAHAWKS: Seattle expects defensive linemen Jadeveon Clowney and Jarran Reed to be able to play Monday night against the Minnesota Vikings despite both being listed as questionable.
Clowney has been dealing with a core injury that kept him out of last week’s game against Philadelphia. Seattle coach Pete Carroll said Saturday that Clowney went through practice the past two days in a limited capacity and will be able to go against the Vikings. Clowney said it will be an injury he will have to manage the rest of the season and that he opted not to have surgery after seeing a specialist last week.
Reed suffered a sprained ankle last week against the Eagles, but was able to practice the past two days. Linebacker Mychal Kendricks was also listed as questionable with a hamstring injury.
CHARGERS: Safeties Derwin James and Adrian Phillips have been activated by the Los Angeles Chargers for Sunday’s game at Denver.
James and Phillips had been on injured reserve. James sustained a stress fracture to his right foot during training camp. Phillips broke his right forearm during the fourth quarter of a Sept. 15 game at Detroit.
Coach Anthony Lynn liked the way both players practiced this week but said their snaps will be limited.
The Chargers also promoted wide receiver Jalen Guyton from the practice squad on Saturday. In corresponding moves, defensive tackle T.Y. McGill and safety Shalom Luani were waived while wide receiver Geremy Davis was placed on injured reserve.
LIONS: Detroit put quarterback Jeff Driskel on injured reserve Saturday.
The Lions were already without injured quarterback Matthew Stafford, and then Driskel missed Thursday’s loss to the Chicago Bears with a hamstring injury. David Blough made his NFL debut at quarterback.
Detroit also announced Saturday that it signed quarterback Kyle Sloter to the active roster from the Arizona Cardinals’ practice squad, and the Lions also signed quarterback Joe Callahan to their practice squad. The Lions host Minnesota next weekend.
BROWNS: Cleveland starting safety Damarious Randall has been ruled out for the Browns’ game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The team announced Saturday that Randall will not make the trip to Pittsburgh due to a coaching decision. Cleveland also downgraded left tackle Greg Robinson to out. Robinson was placed in the concussion protocol on Wednesday.
STEELERS: Pittsburgh wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster will miss a second straight game with a knee injury. Running back James Conner is doubtful while recovering from a shoulder injury.