In his day after the news conference, head coach Vic Fangio said Drew Lock has a 50/50 chance of starting this upcoming weekend against the New England Patriots.
HC Vic Fangio says Drew Lock is 50/50 to play vs. Patriots. Says if Lock can't play, the @Broncos will start Brett Rypien again.
— Phil Milani (@philmilani) October 2, 2020
If Lock is unable to go, Brett Rypien will once again be the starter. Fangio said that he isn’t going to rush Drew Lock onto the field and wouldn’t put him out there unless he is healthy. He indicated Lock hadn’t thrown a football since his right shoulder injury in Week 2 against Pittsburgh.
KOA Insider Brandon Krisztal joined Broncos Country Tonight to weigh in on the possibility of Lock starting. Krisztal said it could even come down to a decision as late as Sunday morning, but that Vic isn’t going to be irresponsible and “put him out there just to put him out there.”
For Lock’s sake, I think not throwing him immediately out there against the Patriots’ defense is probably a good call. If he’s healthy enough the following week, I think bringing him back against Miami makes a lot of sense so he can get a game under his belt before the big showdown against Kansas City.
We’ll see what happens on the injury front, but it very likely is looking like a battle of the backups in New England as Brian Hoyer will most likely be starting in place of Cam Newton, who tested positive for Covid-19 this past weekend.