Do a new coach and three less-than-stellar seasons mean that Drew Lock is done as quarterback of the Denver Broncos? Not necessarily.
Denver’s new offensive coordinator, Justin Outten, spoke about Lock on Tuesday. And while he didn’t say anything to the effect of “Drew Lock is our starting quarterback, period” he didn’t slam the door shut on the possibility.
Broncos OC Justin Outten said jury still out w/Lock: 'He's got a powerful arm, he's done a really good job as far as using his legs as far as being an athlete … I want to see how he fits in this system a little more when he gets the playbook under him and we'll go from there.''
— Jeff Legwold (@Jeff_Legwold) February 22, 2022
This isn’t an unexpected answer. With Teddy Bridgewater set to be a free agent, Lock is currently the only quarterback on Denver’s roster (though Brett Rypien is an unrestricted free agent). As long as that’s the case, the Broncos coaches will likely remain upbeat when speaking of Lock, at least publicly.
Of course, Lock will not be the only quarterback on the roster for long. Denver could draft a quarterback. The Broncos could also sign a veteran or trade for one in the offseason. One potential target, Aaron Rodgers, seemingly said goodbye to the Green Bay Packers in a cryptic Instagram post, though he later clarified that it wasn’t a farewell.
Since John Elway took control, the Broncos have had two disparate runs. The first was highly successful. Much of that success was due to Peyton Manning finishing his career in Denver. The Broncos haven’t reached the playoffs since Manning’s retirement and have struggled at quarterback. So, it would make sense for Elway and company to go down that road again with another proven signal-caller.
Given that, and that Nathaniel Hackett — Rodgers’ former offensive coordinator in Green Bay — is now Denver’s head coach and has brought assistants (like Outten) with him, Rodgers going to the Broncos isn’t exactly a reach. It was a popular sentiment at the time of the hire.
What’s certain is that Denver will need better quarterback play to get back to postseason contention. The Broncos have had a stream of journeymen (Bridgewater) or youngsters that didn’t pan out (Trevor Siemian) under center since Manning’s retirement. Lock may not belong in the latter group yet but his first three years have put him firmly on that path.
In 24 career games, he’s completed 59.3% of his passes for 4,740 yards with 25 touchdowns, 20 interceptions and a 79.3 passer rating. Making matters worse, in Lock’s 21 starts, the Broncos are 8-13. This includes an 0-3 record in 2021.
That said, Lock turned 25 in November. He’s still young and as Outten said, there are some things to like. It’s also not a year with any surefire top quarterbacks available in the draft. So, if someone like Rodgers doesn’t pan out, it’s not crazy to think that Hackett and Outten might try want to stick it out with Lock. There are some reasons to be upbeat with him. But given his track record, don’t expect the new coaches to be especially patient, either.
