Broncos Place QB Joe Flacco on Injured Reserve, Ending his Season

On Friday, the Denver Broncos made a tough decision, placing veteran quarterback Joe Flacco on injured reserve. The move ends his 2019 season.

Flacco suffered a neck injury a few weeks ago, which we didn't learn about until Sunday's game vs. the Indianapolis Colts, where he could be seen on the sideline getting worked on by trainers. The day after the loss, the Broncos announced that Flacco actually had a herniated disc in his neck.

The team's prognosis was 5-6 weeks. Flacco sought a second opinion, but it only confirmed the team's prognosis.

Head coach Vic Fangio explained the Broncos' rationale.

“At best, it was six weeks where he could do nothing," Fangio said. "When I say nothing, absolutely nothing. He would need probably two weeks to get back and a good chance that it would be eight of doing nothing, and then another week or two to get ready. You guys can do the math, so it kind of became an easy decision.”

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An easy decision, indeed, especially with rookie QB Drew Lock literally waiting in the wings and champing at the bit to play. The rookie will have to wait a few more weeks yet, as the Broncos will start the third-year Brandon Allen this week at home vs. the Cleveland Browns.

The Broncos thought that giving up a fourth-round pick to acquire Flacco via trade this past spring would allow the team to compete in the short-term while buying time for Lock to develop in the long. But Flacco's play was just this side of atrocious through the first half of the season.

"I think that he’s a tough guy," Elway said on Wednesday. "[Joe] did everything he possibly could."

Had Flacco finished the season, he was on pace to pass for a career-high in completion percentage (65.5), 3,644 yards, 12 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. His completion percentage was high because he mostly threw the ball short of the sticks, dumping it off to the checkdown routes, hoping his running backs and receivers could make a guy miss to move the chains.

Flacco was one of the least-aggressive QBs in the NFL through eight games, in terms of trying to fit the ball into tight windows and throwing beyond the first-down sticks. The Broncos inexplicably thought they were getting a Flacco in "in his prime" but he turned out to be a below-average starter who led his team to a 2-6 record.

Broncos Country's final impression of Flacco on his way out the door will be of a QB throwing his offensive coordinator under the bus following a heart-breaking loss.

The Broncos also placed LB Corey Nelson on IR, and to fill the two roster spots vacated by he and Flacco, the team promoted QB Brett Rypien and LB Josh Watson off the practice squad. Both are undrafted rookies and Rypien will serve as the Broncos' backup QB in Week 9.

Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.