ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Drew Lock has returned to the field.

On Wednesday, the Denver Broncos’ starting quarterback practiced for the first time since suffering a badly bruised shoulder in Week 2 against the Steelers.

“Drew’s going to practice today on a limited basis,” Vic Fangio stated before Wednesday’s practice.

Not only has Lock not practiced the previous two weeks to let his throwing shoulder recover, but he also hasn’t even thrown a football since suffering the injury on Sept. 20. This week, he’s back practicing and slinging the ball around.

His return to practice on Wednesday is a huge step toward him being able to play against the New England Patriots. But it doesn’t guarantee he will play on Sunday.

“We’ll see how he does. We’ll see if we can build it from there how he does early in practice,” Fangio said, describing how the team will constantly be monitoring Lock’s shoulder throughout practice. “Based on all of that and how he does the next few days, we’ll decide [if he’ll play].”

Lock will start his return by partaking in the individual period of practice, “where there is [a] good amount of throwing going on there,” according to Fangio.

The team will then judge Lock’s progression for the rest of practice based on how he is feeling and looking.

“We’ll just constantly judge it throughout practice and see where he’s at,” Fangio added.

Regardless of how Lock looks throughout practice, he will not be given a full workload on Wednesday with it being his first day back. Another significant step will be to see how Lock’s shoulder responds and recovers to him throwing for the first time in weeks.

“We’ll let him do individual and if that goes well, give him a few reps here and there and see how he wakes up tomorrow feeling and go from there,” Fangio added.

If Lock can’t play against the Patriots, Brett Rypien will be called upon to make his second career start. Rypien is preparing as if he will play on Sunday but is ready to hand the keys over to Lock if he’s ready.

“At the end of the day, I understand my role. This is Drew Lock’s team,” Rypien stated on Wednesday, adding he wants to do everything he can to help Drew and the team win.

The Broncos did not place Lock on the injured reserve in hopes he would miss fewer than three games. If he is able to play on Sunday, their gamble would pay off in a big way.