Broncos rookie quarterback Drew Lock, running back Theo Riddick and tight end Jake Butt are all eligible to return to practice this week.
Those three players were placed on injured reserve before Week 1 and NFL rules required them to sit out six weeks before a potential return to practice. Once a player on IR returns to practice, it triggers a 21-day window for that player to be activated to the 53-man roster.
If a player is not activated within that 21-day window, he will be ruled out for the entire season. So Denver has no reason to rush Lock, Riddick or Butt back onto the field — they’re eligible to return to practice this week but they’re not required to return to practice.
With a short week before facing the Chiefs on “Thursday Night Football,” the Broncos probably won’t have Lock, Riddick or Butt practice this week. Wide receiver Tim Patrick will also be eligible to return from IR later this year.
Denver can only bring back two players from IR per year and general manager John Elway said Friday that the team has not yet decided which players will be brought back this season.
“We’re going to play that by ear,” Elway said. “We obviously have got a lot of guys on IR so we have to use those two right the right way. We’re going to take it week by week and see how it goes. We have not made any decisions on what we’re going to do with those two slots yet.”
Once a player is activated from injured reserve, the Broncos will have to make a corresponding move to make room for him on the roster.
