Drew Lock could be placed on injured reserve, coach says

Rookie Drew Lock injured his throwing hand on Monday Night Football.

Drew Lock could open up his rookie season on injured reserve, Denver Broncos coach Vic Fangio said Thursday.

Lock suffered a severely sprain thumb on his right hand in the third quarter of Monday night’s preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers. Results were negative for a broken thumb that night after X-rays were taken, but he underwent an MRI exam the following day that confirmed the sprain.

The former Mizzou standout moved into the backup role for the Broncos after starting the preseason out as the No. 3 quarterback. He would have gotten a ton of work over the next two preseason games, and was scheduled to play into the fourth quarter of Monday’s game. Lock probably would have entered Week 1 as the backup to Joe Flacco, ahead of preseason reserves Kevin Hogan and Brett Rypien. The Broncos will start Hogan in their next preseason outing.

Fangio’s comments Thursday that Lock could start the season on injured reserve is tough to hear as the rookie continues his first year in the NFL. He would miss half the season if placed on injured reserve in Week 1. That likely is the case, because if an NFL player is placed on IR before Saturday’s 53-man roster cutdown, he would have to miss the entire year. So keep an eye on the Broncos’ roster during the mandatory cutdown day, because that is telling for what lies ahead for Lock and the Broncos.

If he’s on the roster into the season, then the Broncos believe he will be back quicker than expected.

Whether or not Lock can play moving forward, he isn’t losing trust in the locker room.

Broncos’ star pass rusher and team leader Von Miller had some nice comments about Lock.