Broncos Considering Drew Lock IR Stay
After ceding his Ravens job to Lamar Jackson last season, Joe Flacco does not look to be in danger of a demotion in Denver. Drew Lock‘s injury timetable may be longer than initially anticipated.
Expected to need at least five weeks of recovery time before he can resume throwing, Lock is now a candidate for the Broncos’ IR list. Vic Fangio acknowledged (via ESPN.com’s Jeff Legwold) that is in play for the second-round pick. Lock suffered a “fairly serious” sprain against the 49ers on Monday and said Thursday he is not sure when he will be able to throw again.
Should Lock land on IR to start the season, after being carried through to the Broncos’ 53-man roster, he would need to remain there for a minimum of eight regular-season weeks. That would use up one of Denver’s two IR-return slots. The team also will have running backs Andy Janovich and Theo Riddick sidelined into the season. Both are expected to return from injury fairly early in the regular season, so they don’t profile as IR candidates at this point.
This injury would stand to stunt Lock’s growth, and while it clears the way for Flacco to potentially start the whole season, Denver’s new starting quarterback has dealt with maladies in three of the past four seasons. A torn ACL ended Flacco’s 2015 campaign, a back injury limited him in the 2017 offseason, and a hip problem brought Jackson into Baltimore’s 2018 lineup. Flacco will not play in the Broncos’ fourth preseason game, with Fangio set to sit most of his starters then and in the team’s fifth and final August contest.
As was the case last season, Kevin Hogan is now expected to be the Broncos’ backup. The Broncos used Lock as their No. 2 passer in recent practices and in Monday’s game. They have rookie UDFA Brett Rypien as well, but the Boise State product did not play in either of the team’s past two preseason games and profiles more as a practice squad stash.
More Minor NFL Transactions: 8/21/19
Today’s minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Waived: P Sean Smith
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: LB Brandon Bell, OL Tyler Catalina
- Placed on injured reserve: LB Jonathan Celestin, G Norman Price
Cleveland Browns
- Claimed off waivers: S Montrel Meander
- Placed on injured reserve: WR D.J. Montgomery
Denver Broncos
- Waived/injured: LB Aaron Wallace
New York Giants
- Waived: WR Da’Mari Scott
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: OL Andrew Lauderdale, S Tyree Robinson
- Waived: OL Christian DiLauro, WR Shawn Poindexter, RB Brandon Wilds
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: DT Elijah Qualls
- Waived/injured: DT Shane Bowman
Broncos Sign FB/TE Orson Charles
The Broncos have signed fullback/tight end Orson Charles, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Denver is dealing with injuries at both the fullback and tight end positions, so Charles will help the club’s depth. Undrafted free agent Austin Fort is out for the year after suffering a torn ACL earlier this month, first-round tight end Noah Fant suffered a mild ankle sprain in the Broncos’ Week 2 preseason game, and fullback Andy Janovich won’t return until late September at the earliest after sustaining a pectoral injury.
Charles, 28, appeared in 13 games and made two starts for the Browns in 2018. He saw action on 173 offensive plays, the most snaps he’d played since his rookie campaign with the Bengals in 2012. Charles, originally a fourth-round pick, also chipped in on 265 special teams snaps.
Cleveland had re-signed Charles in April, but released him earlier this month after landing former Cowboys tight end Rico Gathers.
Broncos Claim Tyler Jones, Dadi Nicolas
The Broncos have claimed offensive tackle Tyler Jones (Jets) and linebacker Dadi Nicolas (Colts) off waivers. They’ll take the spots of tight end Bug Howard and cornerback Horace Richardson, who were placed on injured reserve.
[RELATED: Mike Shanahan On Broncos’ Interest, Coaching Plans]
Nicolas, 27 in September, appeared in eleven games as a reserve for the Chiefs in 2016. Since then, he’s been a frequent guest in Pro Football Rumors’ workout roundups and Minor NFL Transactions posts. Jones, a product of N.C. State, went undrafted this year despite having solid foot speed for the offensive line.
Howard, a UNC product, made noise as a senior in 2016 with 53 grabs for 827 yards and eight touchdowns. Since then, he’s made the rounds in the NFL, but has yet to see live action.
Broncos QB Drew Lock To Miss Time
Broncos quarterback Drew Lock has been diagnosed with a fairly serious sprain, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears. On the plus side, there will be no surgery required. On the down side, Lock will have to miss some time as he recuperates. Ryan O’Halloran, citing Dr. Steven Shin, the director of hand surgery at Cedars-Sinai Kerlans-Jobe Institute in Los Angeles, estimates that Lock will need five to six weeks to recover before he can start throwing again (Twitter link). 
[RELATED: Mike Shanahan On Broncos’ Interest, Coaching Plans]
Before the injury, the expectation was that Lock would open the regular season as Joe Flacco‘s primary backup. Now, there will likely be a competition between third-stringers Kevin Hogan and Brett Rypien for the No. 2 QB spot. Hogan served as Case Keenum‘s backup last year, after Chad Kelly‘s departure, so he could have the upper hand. Indeed, Mike Klis of 9News.com suggests that Hogan will be the QB2 until Lock is ready to return, and that the team could ultimately try to sneak Rypien onto the practice squad.
A Kansas City, Mo., native, Lock concluded his Mizzou career with 99 touchdown passes — including 44 as a junior — and 12,193 yards. Flacco’s early work dissuaded the Broncos from using a first-round pick on a quarterback, but when Lock was still on the board in Round 2, the team decided to pull the trigger.
Mike Shanahan On Broncos’ Interest, Coaching Plans
Mike Shanahan revealed his side of the late-2017 discussions centered around the Broncos bringing him back as head coach. The two-time Super Bowl-winning HC said he was “close” to taking the job, had it been offered.
“I was close. I was close,” Shanahan said, via The Athletic’s Nicki Jhabvala (subscription required). “But one thing that has to happen: You all have to be on the same page. And one thing you have to make sure of when you are a head football coach is the owner, the GM, the quarterback are all on the same page. If it doesn’t happen, the chance of you winning a Super Bowl aren’t very good.
“So, anyway, if that situation had happened, I was going to take it. If not — but anyway, I had a great conversation with John as everybody knows and it didn’t work out. Sometimes it works out for the right reasons.”
John Elway made the initial contact regarding the short-lived reunion, Jhabvala reports, and the Hall of Fame quarterback-turned-GM discussed the job — which then belonged to Vance Joseph — with his former coach. But at the time, Broncos CEO Joe Ellis informed Elway his firing Joseph after one season would have required him to conduct a thorough search — rather than earmark the job for Shanahan. The Broncos would have obviously needed to comply with the Rooney Rule as well.
As for the quarterback component of this, Kirk Cousins may or may not have been part of the equation. Conflicting reports emerged on then-free agency-bound passer following Shanahan to Denver. But the Shanahan process did not progress too far, and the Broncos made other plans. They retained Joseph for the 2018 season and signed the player Cousins wound up replacing in Minnesota, Case Keenum. They are now on another HC-QB combo in Vic Fangio and Joe Flacco.
Shanahan’s greatest coaching moments came in Denver. He helped the Broncos to two Super Bowl titles and four playoff byes. His Raiders and Redskins tenures did not go as well. The 66-year-old coach has not ruled out a return to the sidelines.
“You always miss coaching,” Shanahan said. “But it’s been five years. I made the decision a long time ago, right when I got fired. I said if I didn’t get the right job right away where we had a chance to win a Super Bowl that I was probably going to do what I’m doing, which is kind of being a dad and following (my) son and the organization and being a part of it.”
Elway did enlist Mike Shanahan’s help while securing a deal with new OC Rich Scangarello, who worked for Kyle Shanahan for two seasons. Scangarello’s offense will look somewhat similar to what the Broncos primarily ran under the elder Shanahan.
Jake Butt Returns To Broncos' Practice
- Attempting to return to the Broncos‘ 53-man roster after a third ACL tear, Jake Butt spent most of camp sidelined because of another setback. But he made it back to 11-on-11 drills Tuesday, Mike Klis of 9News notes. Despite Austin Fort‘s season-ending injury, the Broncos still have three other tight ends — Noah Fant, Jeff Heuerman and Troy Fumagalli. But the latter, a 2018 fifth-rounder who missed all of last season, worked as an H-back/fullback on Tuesday. Vic Fangio said Fumagalli could fit in there while Andy Janovich recovers from a pectoral injury. This would be a way for the Broncos to roster four tight ends.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/12/19
Here are Monday’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Claimed off waivers from Broncos: LB Jeff Holland
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: FB Tommy Bohanon
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: TE Manasseh Garner
- Waived: RB Josh Caldwell
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: DE Thomas Costigan
- Waived/injured: TE Andrew Vollert
New England Patriots
- Signed: OL Cole Croston
- Waived/injured: CB D’Angelo Ross
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: FB Shane Smith
Emmanuel Sanders Also Underwent Offseason Ankle Surgery
It turns out Emmanuel Sanders needed two surgeries this offseason. The veteran Broncos wideout is nearly ready to play again after his Achilles operation, and on Monday he revealed to 9News’ Miks Klis he underwent a procedure to repair his other ankle.
Sanders underwent surgeries to repair his left Achilles’ tendon and right ankle, the latter procedure to fix a troublesome injury that occurred in October 2017. Sanders missed four games that season with a high ankle sprain but did not opt for a 2018 surgery. While he was on pace for another 1,000-yard season before his December 2018 Achilles injury, the 32-year-old pass catcher said he played through ankle pain throughout. Sanders had surgery this year while he was going through Achilles rehab, undergoing Achilles surgery in December and the ankle procedure a month later, Klis notes.
“My (right) ankle gave me problems all last year,’’ Sanders said. “I came to camp last year thinking, “How the hell am I going to get through this season?’ I feel like that was kind of the reason I tore my Achilles.”
Sanders is expected to return to game action in the Broncos’ third preseason contest, which is set for August 19 against the 49ers. He participated in 11-on-11 drills Monday.
The Broncos are counting on the 10th-year receiver to again be a key playmaker for at least one more season. They did not make any major investments at this position this year, adding only sixth-round pick Juwann Winfree to a group that includes Sanders and three second-year players. Sanders has been a Broncos starter for five seasons and is entering the final year of his contract.
Broncos Move Jamal Carter To ILB
- It should be expected that Drew Lock is the Broncos‘ backup quarterback once the regular season begins, even after a shaky preseason start. But the Broncos also moved rookie UDFA Brett Rypien into position to challenge Kevin Hogan‘s roster spot. The nephew of former Super Bowl MVP Mark Rypien received the third-team reps ahead of Hogan in practice Sunday, Mike Klis of 9News notes. Lock took the second-team snaps. Hogan served as Case Keenum‘s backup last year, after Chad Kelly‘s departure. Rypien could conceivably be a practice squad stash, but Klis views the Broncos as giving him every opportunity to unseat Hogan.
- On the defensive side of the ball, the Broncos made a move to address their depleted inside linebacker corps. Third-year safety Jamal Carter is now an inside linebacker, with Vic Fangio indicating (via The Athletic’s Nicki Jhabvala, on Twitter) Carter sought this switch. “I’ve been wanting to play this since high school and college,’’ Carter said, via Klis. “I like being in the trenches. I’m a physical specimen. I don’t like being too deep away from arms and contact. It’s going to fit me.” Todd Davis, Josey Jewell and Joe Jones are out with injuries presently. Carter, a 2017 UDFA out of Miami, missed all of last season due to injury and is on Denver’s roster bubble.