Denver Broncos quarterback Drew Lock (thumb) will return to practice this week, coach Vic Fangio confirmed during his Monday press conference.
Lock injured his thumb during a preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers on Aug. 19. He was then placed on injured reserve and hasn’t practiced for nearly three months.
Once Lock returns to practice, it will trigger a 21-day window for the team to make a decision about his future. If the QB is not activated from IR to the 53-man roster within three weeks, he will spend the entire year on reserve.
NFL teams are allowed to bring back two players from IR per season. Fangio didn’t guarantee that Lock will be one of those two players this year.
“[He’s] one of the two that we can bring off IR — but that doesn’t [necessarily] mean he’ll be activated,” Fangio said.
One of the other candidates to return in 2019 is receiver Tim Patrick (hand). Fangio said the team will make a decision on Patrick later this week.
