Fangio Provides Update on Four Injured Players Ahead of Week 11
On Monday, as the Denver Broncos begin preparations to travel to take on the Minnesota Vikings, head coach Vic Fangio provided an update on four injured players. In order of magnitude, they are as follows.
Drew Lock, QB: Fangio confirmed that Lock will begin practicing on Tuesday. While Fangio wouldn't give an absolute affirmative on whether the Broncos will fully activate Lock off of injured reserve, the fact that he'll begin practicing this week is a pretty strong indicator that it will happen at some point this season. The Broncos have two designations to return off IR and it's a pretty good bet that Lock will be one of them. The team will have a 21-day window to evaluate Lock and make a decision either way. After dragging their heels on Lock since the season started, don't expect the team to suddenly rush him onto the field.
Bryce Callahan, CB: Callahan, oddly, has remained on the 53-man roster all year, though he's yet to play a single snap, or participate much in practice. That will change on Tuesday, though, as Fangio revealed Callahan will "try and practice". There's no timetable to govern what the team does with Callahan since he's on the active roster but if he suffers any setbacks this week, the Broncos will likely write him off as a loss this season and place him on IR, which would open up a roster spot for a guy like Lock. If Callahan practices and all goes well with that foot, he could play as soon as this week but more likely, the team would wait until Week 12 to give the fifth-year corner two full weeks of practice before debuting him.
Tim Patrick, WR: Patrick suffered a broken hand in Week 1 and has been on IR since. He is one of two IR players the Broncos appear to have earmarked for a return to the roster. He began practicing before the bye, which means this is his final week of practice before the team will be faced with the decision to activate him. With no viable No. 2 receiver having emerged behind Courtland Sutton, expect Patrick to be given the green light.
Ja'Wuan James, OT: James has appeared in just two games this year after signing a four-year, $51 million contract in the spring. He's played a grand total of 32 snaps with a sprained knee. He aggravated the knee in his return to the playing field in Week 8 but unfortunately, despite the time he's had to recuperate, Fangio said his prognosis is still "up in the air". Considering Fangio's penchant for erring on the side of caution with injured players, the odds of James suiting up this week in Minnesota are slim.
James and Callahan represent two-thirds of the big free-agent haul the Broncos had in the spring but both have been busts thus far. Considering their injury history before signing, we probably shouldn't be surprised of the team's bad luck.
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