Denver Broncos

Drew Lock has been the Denver Broncos' starting quarterback for 18 games over the past two seasons, but he's not guaranteed to hold that job in 2021, per head coach Vic Fangio.

The Broncos took Lock with the 42nd overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft. The former Missouri star completed 57.1 percent of his passes for 16 touchdowns and an NFL-high 15 interceptions this season. Denver went 4-9 with Lock under center.

The Broncos are in a position to grab a first-round talent at quarterback in the 2020 NFL draft.

They currently own the No. 9 overall selection in a draft that could have at least four first-round signal-callers in Clemson's Trevor Lawrence, BYU's Zach Wilson, Ohio State's Justin Fields and North Dakota State's Trey Lance, all of whom are in the top 18 of Pro Football Focus' latest overall rankings.

Florida's Kyle Trask and Alabama's Mac Jones could conceivably land in Round 1 as well.

Denver can also opt to bring in competition in free agency. Options include the New Orleans Saints' Jameis Winston and the New England Patriots' Cam Newton.

The Broncos can also just stick with Lock and see if he improves upon his second year. In fairness to Lock, he's barely played more than a full season's worth of games.

His first year was hampered by a preseason thumb injury that kept him sidelined for over two months. His second year featured an altered offseason due to the COVID-19 pandemic and learning a new system under first-year Broncos offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur.

We'll find out in a few months what the Broncos opt to do with free agency looming in two months and the draft beginning April 29.

The Denver Broncos will hire a new general manager in 2021 as John Elway is going to take on more responsibilities for the organization. 

Elway announced on Monday that he will have an "elevated role" in the front office that will require him to relinquish the general manager job:

"Working in this role for the last 10 years and going back to my playing days, I've always tried to do everything I can to help the Broncos win and get better. As part of a transition I've thought about for a long time, I have made the decision to step up into an elevated role and hire a general manager to lead our personnel and football staff.

"While I'll continue to be President of Football Operations in 2021, the GM will have final say on the draft, free agency and our roster. This person will be empowered to make all football decisions, working in partnership with Vic."

Per NFL Network's James Palmer, Broncos vice president of player personnel Matt Russell was offered the job by Elway, but opted to retire from the organization. 

ESPN's Field Yates noted a "logical target" for the Broncos would be Adam Peters. He just finished his fourth season with the San Francisco 49ers vice president of player personnel after spending eight years in Denver.  

Elway has been Denver's general manager and executive vice president of football operations since 2011. He's been in charge of everything related to personnel and roster decisions over the past 10 seasons. 

The Broncos have gone through a series of highs and lows under Elway's stewardship. They made the playoffs in each of his first five years with two Super Bowl appearances, including a 24-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50.

Since that Super Bowl victory, Denver has gone 32-48 with no playoff appearances. The Broncos haven't finished higher than second in the AFC West in the past five seasons. 

One of the biggest problems for the Broncos has been finding a long-term quarterback. They have used 10 different starters since 2016. Trevor Siemian is the only player to lead the team in passing yards in a season more than once during this span. 

Elway's statement did note the new general manager, as well as head coach Vic Fangio, will report to him as part of the new organizational structure. 

The Broncos finished last in the AFC West with a 5-11 record in 2020.

The Denver Broncos aren't planning to fire head coach Vic Fangio despite missing the playoffs for the fifth straight season, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Schefter reported the Broncos "recognize the important of stability and believe in Fangio, according to sources":

"They know how he operates, respect his approach and believe he was dealt a difficult hand this season between the Broncos' early-season injuries -- including star pass rusher Von Miller and top wide receiver Courtland Sutton -- and other challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including playing a game without any experienced NFL quarterbacks on the roster."

Fangio would be the first Broncos coach since John Fox to stay on for a third year. Gary Kubiak stepped down for health reasons in January 2017, and Denver fired Vance Joseph after winning 11 games between 2017 and 2018.

As Schefter noted, Fangio hasn't been dealt a great hand in 2020, so all of the blame for the team's performance shouldn't land at his feet.

Overshadowing everything is the franchise's continued inability to identify a franchise quarterback, something that predates Fangio's tenure.

On Thursday, offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur pointed to positive strides Drew Lock has made in his second season:

Still, Lock's production isn't encouraging. He has thrown for 2,330 yards, 14 touchdowns and 13 interceptions while completing 57.7 percent of his passes through 11 games. Having a healthy Sutton would obviously improve the passing game, but that isn't silencing the speculation about Lock's long-term fit. 

The franchise whiffed on Brock Osweiler and Paxton Lynch as it attempted to identify a successor to Peyton Manning. Who's on the sideline is of secondary concern for the Broncos if Lock similarly fails to catch on.

Denver Broncos linebacker Bradley Chubb will miss Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Chargers due to an ankle injury, according to 9News' Mike Klis.

Chubb finished with 12 sacks as a rookie in 2018, justifying Denver's decision to select him fifth overall in the draft. He was unable to build on that year because he suffered a partially torn left ACL that ended his 2019 campaign after four games.

As a team, Denver fell from a tie for eighth in team sacks (44) to a tie for 17th (40). The Broncos also slipped to 13th in defensive efficiency, per Football Outsiders, a notable drop for what has traditionally been one of the NFL's elite defenses.

The team then had a significant setback before the first snap of 2020 as Von Miller suffered a major ankle injury, putting his status for the entire year in doubt.

Chubb was supposed to ease some of the pass-rushing burden on Miller and provide a consistent threat on the other side of the front seven. He did that in his debut season, and he earned his first trip to the Pro Bowl in 2020 thanks to his 7.5 sacks and 42 tackles through 14 games.

Now, Denver is left scrambling to find a replacement once again. One of Derrek Tuszka or Jeremiah Attaochu will be pressed into starting duty for Week 16.

Denver Broncos running back Phillip Lindsay is done for the year.

According to Mike Klis of Denver's 9News, Lindsay has been moved to the injured reserve with knee and hip injuries. 

The 26-year-old was ruled out for Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Chargers after sitting out two days of practice. He already missed three games at the start of the season. 

Lindsay collected 502 yards and a touchdown on 118 carries through 11 games this season, numbers that aren't close to what he was able to pull together during his first two seasons in the league.

The Colorado native had a stunning rookie year, when he went undrafted out of Colorado and posted a Pro Bowl-worthy season with 1,037 yards and nine scores on 192 carries, while adding 241 yards on 35 receptions with his only receiving touchdown through 15 appearances with eight starts. 

In his second year in the league, he started every regular-season game for the Broncos, with 1,011 yards and seven scores on 224 attempts.

He will become a restricted free agent at the end of the season, but his future is in flux as the Broncos haven't had to rely on him to carry the backfield this season. Instead, they've looked to Melvin Gordon III, whose 814 yards and eight touchdowns lead all Denver scorers.

After the Chargers on Sunday, the Broncos close the season by hosting the Las Vegas Raiders on Jan. 3.

Denver Broncos kicker Brandon McManus is headed to the league's reserve/COVID-19 list because he was deemed a close contact of someone who tested positive, he tweeted on Monday. 

McManus said the close contact is someone outside of the Broncos organization. 

The kicker said he expects to play Saturday when the Broncos host the Buffalo Bills.

According to KUSA-TV's Mike Klis, the 29-year-old checked himself into a hotel in the area in order to self-isolate for five days, while continuing to test daily for COVID-19. 

The team is still without quarterback Jeff Driskel following the Week 12 outbreak that resulted in no signalcallers being available for the team's loss to the New Orleans Saints, but they learned from their mishap and signed an emergency kicker to the practice squad on Monday, per Klis.

Taylor Russolino, who played with the St. Louis Battlehawks in the XFL after playing arena football in Canada, took the team's last spot on the practice squad, which was opened when Darius Kilgo was played on the reserve/COVID-19 list last week. 

In the XFL, Russolino was 9-for-10 with a 58-yard field goal. 

McManus missed two extra points on Sunday as the Broncos defeated the Carolina Panthers, his first missed extra points of the season in 24 attempts.

Denver Broncos kicker Brandon McManus had a tough outing in the team's 32-27 win on Sunday, missing two of his four extra-point attempts.

After the game, he was pretty blunt in his assessment of his own performance:

McManus has been otherwise solid this season, making 22 of 24 field-goal attempts and 21 of 24 extra points, so his teammates can forgive his off day. His accountability will also be appreciated in the locker room. 

Patience runs thin in the NFL, however. Luckily for the seven-year veteran, his struggles didn't ultimately hurt Denver on Sunday. 

Denver Broncos tight end Noah Fant left Sunday's game against the Carolina Panthers in the first half with an illness, and he was ruled out for the remainder of the contest, according to Mike Klis of 9News.  

Fant did not record a catch or a target prior to exiting the game.

Entering Sunday's game, Fant had recorded 44 receptions for 492 yards and two touchdowns in 11 games this season. Despite missing Week 6 with an ankle injury earlier in the year, the 23-year-old entered ranking first on the team in catches, third in receiving yardage and tied for second in receiving touchdowns.

After the Broncos selected him No. 20 overall in the 2019 NFL draft out of Iowa, he appeared in all 16 games and finished with 40 receptions for 562 yards and three scores.

After Fant exited Sunday's game, Nick Vannett and Troy Fumagalli emerged as the top two options at tight end for the Broncos.

The 27-year-old Vannett is a fifth-year veteran who entered the game with 10 receptions for 75 yards on the season. Fumagalli, 25, had two catches for 12 yards in four games this season entering Sunday.

Denver Broncos cornerback A.J. Bouye has been suspended six games by the NFL for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing drugs, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Benjamin Allbright of KOA Colorado first reported the suspension Tuesday.

Troy Renck of Denver7 confirmed the news, reporting a connection to Houston Texans players Bradley Roby and Will Fuller, who were each suspended six games.

Bouye began his career with the Texans before heading to the Jacksonville Jaguars and then joining the Broncos this season.

Allbright noted there could be legal ramifications after the players were "lied to by someone they trusted."

Denver acquired Bouye in March in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick, helping the team overcome the loss of Chris Harris Jr. to free agency.

The cornerback has been in and out of the lineup during his first season with the team, including a stint on injured reserve after a Week 1 shoulder injury. He also missed his team's Week 9 game while in the concussion protocol.

Bouye has been a reliable player when on the field, starting all seven games he played while ranking second on the team with six passes defended.

The eight-year veteran has one Pro Bowl selection on his resume, also earning second-team All-Pro honors in 2017.

With fellow cornerback Bryce Callahan on IR with a foot injury, the Broncos will now be extremely thin in the secondary.

Denver Broncos head coach Vic Fangio told reporters on Wednesday that the team fined Drew Lock, Brett Rypien and Blake Bortles for not wearing masks during a team meeting last week. 

All three were deemed "high-risk" after attending the meeting with Jeff Driskel, who reportedly tested positive for COVID-19, and missed Sunday's blowout loss vs. the New Orleans Saints. 

So the Broncos (4-7) had to turn to practice-squad wide receiver Kendall Hinton at quarterback, along with running the Wildcat formation with running backs taking the snap. 

It didn't go well. Hinton finished 1-of-9 for 13 yards and two interceptions. The former Wake Forest quarterback was sacked once. The Broncos as a whole finished with just 112 yards of offense and lost 31-3. 

"In a controlled and socially distanced area, we let our masking slip for a limited amount of time. An honest mistake, but one I will own," Lock wrote in a statement Sunday. "I sincerely apologize and I fully understand why these safety precautions are so important. Doing the right thing for a majority of the time is not good enough."

Fangio told reporters Sunday he was disappointed with his quarterbacks:

"We count on them to be the leaders of the team and leaders of the offense and those guys made a mistake and that is disappointing. Obviously, I haven't done a good enough job of selling the protocols to them when they are on their own so part of that could fall on me. I thought I was. We have emphasized it a lot and we're really doing good with COVID up to this point ... relative to other teams. There was a failing there and that's disappointing."

Lock, Rypien and Bortles were all activated from the COVID-19/reserve list on Tuesday. They are available to play for the Broncos in a tough Week 13 matchup with the 10-1 Kansas City Chiefs. 

Driskel remains on the reserve/COVID-19 list, though Mike Klis of 9News reported Monday that "Driskel, who has no symptoms, can return by Saturday if his tests come back clean."