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Broncos Officially Activate QB Drew Lock, Waive Brett Rypien
The Denver Broncos announced on Saturday that the team has officially activated quarterback Drew Lock off of injured reserve. Lock is now on the 53-man roster for the first time in his young career.
Unfortunately, it meant that the Broncos had to make a corresponding roster cut to stay at 53 players. Unsurprisingly, the team chose to waive Brett Rypien — the undrafted rookie from Boise State — who spent the last month on the active roster, serving as the backup to Brandon Allen for three games.
This late in the week, the odds are good that Rypien will pass through waivers, allowing the team to re-sign him to the practice squad. He passed through waivers at final roster cut-downs in early September and nothing has changed for him from an exposure perspective since, other than being active on three gamedays.
As for Lock, the future is now. The 6-foot-4, 228-pound rookie was drafted by the Broncos in the second round this past spring.
Lock played his college ball in the SEC at Missouri. As a four-year starter, Lock threw for the second-most passing yards (12,193) and third-most touchdowns (99) in SEC history.
He went 883-of-1,553 as a passer (56.9%) for 12,193 yards with 99 touchdowns and 39 interceptions (138.8 QB rating), while adding 437 yards and nine scores on the ground.
Lock set the SEC single-season passing touchdown record as a junior in 2017 with 44. Thrown into the fire as a freshman starter, Lock grew by leaps and bounds throughout his collegiate career.
As the No. 42 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, Lock arrived in Denver oozing traits but still very much in raw form. OC Rich Scangarello and QBs Coach T.C. McCartney helped Lock learn to drop-back from under center, read a defense from under center, and polished his footwork and technique.
By the time Denver got to the preseason and Lock saw some live-bullet snaps, it was clear that his technique had improved. He appeared significantly more refined as a passer and NFL QB but he still has a long way to go in terms of being a finished product.
Suffering a sprained thumb on his throwing hand in the Broncos' third preseason game, Lock was placed on IR to start the season. His 10-week exile from the field officially ended in Week 11 and this past week marked his third full week of practice.
All in, Lock spent 12 weeks on IR. In preparation for Week 13's home tilt with the L.A. Chargers, the Broncos gave Lock 75% of the first-team practice reps at quarterback.
While the Broncos haven't officially announced Lock as the starter for Week 13, 'all signs' point to it being a matter of course. Odds are, Broncos fans will get their first look at the talented young signal-caller on Sunday at Empower Field at Mile High.
Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.
