Friday provided the most encouraging signs yet for Drew Lock playing this season

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Drew Lock will not play for the Broncos on Sunday.

In fact, the Broncos’ rookie second-round pick won’t even have a jersey against the Bills as he’ll technically still be on the injury reserve.

“It’s not official, but I’ll tell you it’s [Brett] Rypien,” Vic Fangio said on Friday when DNVR asked him if an official decision had been made about the backup quarterback spot.

“That’s just between me and you,” he added with a smile in a room full of media and cameras.

But even though Lock technically hasn’t taken any concrete steps toward playing since returning to practice in Week 11, Vic provided a few hints on Friday about the direction Lock is trending.

“He’s definitely doing good when you factor in he hasn’t done anything since whenever in August,” Fangio said on Friday, dishing out an unprompted compliment to Drew.

The Broncos’ offense is taking more reps in practice than the defense in part to getting Lock the eight to 10 team snaps in practice he’s receiving. That’s on top of the scout team reps he’s receiving each practice.

In just two weeks of practice, Lock has impressed Fangio on multiple occasions, including during his first week of practice where Lock looked “a little bit better.”

In fact, Lock’s progressed enough to “possibly” be promoted to the 53-man roster next week. That would be a week earlier than the team is forced to make a roster decision on their rookie quarterback.

If they do not activate Lock to the 53-man roster by Dec. 3, they will either have to make the move or designate him to the injured reserve for the rest of the season. However, no signs have pointed to his previously injured thumb flaring up.

“Is he ready? I don’t know that he’ll ever be ready-ready in the next few weeks based upon his lack of practice time, but there’s a chance at some point maybe he’ll play,” Fangio said, publically saying Lock could, in fact, play this season.

On Thursday, the head coach acknowledged Lock’s “feeling more comfortable” in practice and that he doesn’t necessarily need to be the backup quarterback before starting, although it “may work out that way.”

The road to if and when Drew Lock will play is still up in the air. But on Friday, it felt like the winds were blowing in a positive direction for No. 3 to take the field at some point this season.