WATCH: Broncos' RB Theo Riddick injured on sailed Kevin Hogan pass
The injury bug is no respecter of persons.
It can strike at any time and for the Denver Broncos, it's nagging has been incessant since training camp opened. The latest victim is the recently-signed RB Theo Riddick.
Riddick signed a one-year, $2.5 million deal with Denver on August 2, which featured $1 million guaranteed. Less than one week later, he was injured in the Broncos' 22-14 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Denver's preseason Game 2, and will be out 6-8 weeks.
The play in question came with 2:41 left in the first quarter. With Kevin Hogan in at QB, the Broncos were in a 4th-&-2 situation on Seatle's 39-yard line. Head coach Vic Fangio chose to go for it.
In the play below, you can see the hit Riddick took trying to haul in an errant pass, which should have been a routine completion for most NFL QBs.
Too far upfield, high and inside. The play in question, in which Riddick suffered the injury, was confirmed as the fourth-down attempt by Coach Fangio following Sunday's practice at Dove Valley.
“I believe it was the fourth-down play," Fangio told reporters on Sunday.
It was great play design from offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello and Riddick ran a good route. But Hogan's pass was way off the mark.
Hogan has managed to hold onto the No. 2 spot on the Broncos' QB depth chart thus far — by the skin of his teeth. But with how bad Hogan's performance was in Seattle, Drew Lock saw an opportunity to make a play up the depth chart and capitalized.
Game 2 might have been a team loss, but it was a personal win for Lock, who played nearly three full quarters and outshined Hogan. In the Broncos' first practice since the game, Lock saw the lion's share of second-team reps.
Undrafted rookie Brett Rypien manned the third-team offense, with Hogan being demoted (unofficially) to scout team. After practice, Fangio was reluctant to confirm that any official change has been made to the Broncos' depth chart.
As Fangio said, the media can say that Lock is now QB2. But he's not willing to go that far quite yet.
“I’m not," Fangio said. "You said ‘we.’ I’m not. You can, but I’m not.”
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