For the fifth straight year, the Broncos will have a new quarterback to start the season.
Coach Vic Fangio told his team that Teddy Bridgewater won the starting job over Drew Lock, the Broncos said on their website.
Lock, the former Mizzou and Lee's Summit High School star, had won the starting job last season. Before that, the Broncos started a season with Joe Flacco (2019), Case Keenum (2018) and Trevor Siemian (2017).
In his first full season as the Broncos' starting quarterback, Lock completed 57.3% of his passes for 2,933 yards with 16 touchdowns but had a league-worst 15 interceptions. Lock, the Broncos' second-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, missed three games because of an injury.
Pro Football Focus gave Lock the No. 32 passing grade (63.4) out of 36 qualifying quarterbacks last season.
Lock told the Associated Press last week that he was not stressing about the quarterback battle with Bridgewater.
"The human nature is to dive into it, think about it and almost overanalyze sometimes," Lock said. "That's just humans being humans. To say that I've never done that in this process, I'd be lying to you. But through the process, you grow, and you figure it out. It really comes down to the basics — control what you can control and worry about yourself and how you can get better and make this team better.
"I feel like I can make this team better by being a better me. That was my main focus going through this."
Denver, which finished last in the AFC West with a 5-11 record last season, traded a sixth-round pick in the 2021 draft to the Carolina Panthers for Bridgewater in April.
Bridgewater, 28, completed 69.1% of his passes a year ago for 3,733 yards and 15 touchdowns in 15 games. He played the 2018-19 seasons with the Saints after being with the Vikings for his first four seasons.
In 2016, Bridgewater suffered a major knee injury that limited him to one game in two seasons.
Bridgewater will be the 10th quarterback to start for the Broncos since they won Super Bowl 50 with Peyton Manning, the team said.
The others: Lock, Siemian, Keenum, Flacco, Brock Osweiler, Paxton Lynch, Brandon Allen, Brett Rypien and Jeff Driskel.
Running back Phillip Lindsay also took the first snap at quarterback in a game last season.
