There is hope Drew Lock returns sooner than expected

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Broncos haven’t been afraid to use the injured reserve the first few weeks of the 2020 season. Unfortunately, they’ve had to many times.

When A.J. Bouye was slated to be out a “couple of weeks” after injuring his shoulder in Week 1, the Broncos stashed him on the I.R.

After Dre’Mont Jones was pegged to be out “four weeks or so” after suffering a PCL strain and bone bruise in his knee against the Steelers, Denver placed him on the injured reserve.

Drew Lock is scheduled to miss “anywhere to three, four, five weeks,” according to the head coach, after suffering a bad bruise in his throwing shoulder during Sunday’s game.

Yet despite being able to come off the injured reserve after just three weeks — the shortest timetable Fangio gave for Lock’s injury — the Broncos have decided not to place their quarterback on the list.

“We considered putting him on I.R.,” Fangio said on Wednesday. “But there’s a chance he may not have to miss three games.”

Instead of a long-term injury that was feared when Lock hurt his shoulder, there’s a chance it could only be a speedbump in the Drew’s second season.

With Denver playing on Thursday night in Week 4, it’s doesn’t appear likely Lock will be able to return after only missing Sunday’s game against the Buccaneers. However, the Broncos will have a long break before playing the Patriots in New England on Oct. 11. If he was placed on the I.R., Lock would be guaranteed to miss all three of those games.

“But at the same point, there’s a chance he might have to miss four or five,” Fangio said, confirming it’s not a guarantee Lock is able to play within the next three weeks. “Rather than eliminate the possibility of him coming back if he’s healthy enough, we kept him on the active roster at this point.”

On Monday, Fangio said, “It will all depend upon the healing process.”

The positive news surrounding Lock’s injury is there is nothing structurally wrong with his shoulder. It’s just a bad bruise after Bud Dupree brought him to the ground hard on Sunday.

“When it’s your throwing shoulder, it’s going to take time to heal,” Fangio explained. “It’s got to calm down, get his strength back to where he fully has it and he can operate at 100 percent.”

If Lock were to be placed on the injured reserve, he would not be able to play until after sitting out three games. In fact, Lock couldn’t even attend practice if he was on the I.R.

By not placing him on the injured reserve, he could practice and play at any time once he’s healthy. The cost of not placing him on the injured reserve is he takes up a roster spot. For a team’s starting quarterback, that’s a small price to pay.

The Broncos went all-in on Drew Lock for the 2020 season. At first, all hope appeared to be lost when Lock went down on Sunday. But now, there’s hope the second-round pick will be back on the field within the next three weeks.