Drew Lock’s possible debut has been pushed back—here’s what you need to know

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The clock on Lock’s debut has not yet begun.

Despite dropping a mere six points on the board on primetime in front of the entire nation on Thursday night against the Chiefs, Drew Lock will not be saving the Broncos’ offense any time soon, if at all in 2019.

On Monday, following Denver’s second win on the season against the Titans, Lock, Theo Riddick and Jake Butt—the three players eligible to return from the injured reserve after Week 8—were all able to return to the practice field if the team chose.

On Tuesday, Vic Fangio said he didn’t think the team would bring any of those three back to practice during the short week leading up to the Chiefs game, but threw in the possibility they could by adding, “maybe.”

On Thursday, a source told DNVR the team in fact did not officially bring any of the three back.

This is significant for two reasons.

First, players put on IR are eligible to return to practice after being on the IR for six weeks. Once brought back to practice, the team has 21 days to either activate them to the 53-man roster or place them on the season-ending injured reserve. Since Lock, Riddick nor Butt practiced during the week, none of their 21-day timetables began.

The second reason is drastically more impactful. In the same IR rules, players are not eligible to return to games until two weeks after they’ve returned to practice. Since the Broncos delayed Lock, Riddick and Butt from practicing until at least Week 8, they postponed all three of their season debuts until Week 10, instead of Week 9.

However, Week 10 is the Broncos bye week, so none of those players are eligible to return to a game until Week 11, when Denver takes on the Vikings in Minnesota.

The Broncos next home game doesn’t fall until Week 13, when they take on the Chargers.

With Joe Flacco falling into the bottom 10 in touchdowns and passer rating through seven weeks of the season, calls for Drew Lock have grown louder by the day. But no matter how loud the chants for the second-round pick are, the earliest the Broncos can now bring him back is after the bye in Week 11. That would leave the possibility of Lock playing seven games to close out the season.

However, it’s no guarantee the rookie quarterback will take the field in Week 11, or at any point in the season.

Every team is only eligible to bring two players off the IR. Denver currently has five players eligible to return from the injured reserve at some point in the season. Tim Patrick and De’Vante Bausby could return later in the season, although Bausby is not expected to be a serious candidate to return.

According to a source, it’s not a guarantee the team uses one of the two spots to bring Lock back, either.

One thing that’s certain is Lock’s possible debut has been pushed back until at least Week 11.