Broncos Announce Starting QB for Preseason Week 3 vs. Rams

Kevin Hogan

Getty Kevin Hogan

There’ll be no Drew Lock or Joe Flacco for the Denver Broncos on Saturday evening.

Head coach Vic Fangio announced Thursday that most of his starters — including Flacco — won’t play in Denver’s third preseason contest, a road meeting with the Los Angeles Rams.

And with Lock sidelined for “some time” due to “bad” thumb sprain, Kevin Hogan will start at quarterback, Fangio confirmed, adding that undrafted rookie Brett Rypien, inactive last week against the 49ers, will play in L.A.

Fangio’s decision came 24 hours after admitting it’s “up in the air” whether the first-stringers would go. He was, however, blunt in stating that Rams coach Sean McVay’s aversion to risking his starters wouldn’t factor into the Broncos’ thinking.

“No. This is our fourth preseason game, not our third. That’s entering into it more than anything else,” Fangio said.

Hogan went five-for-15 for 40 yards and an interception in second-half work against San Francisco, scoring on a 24-yard run late in the fourth quarter of the 22-15 defeat. He was the third passer to enter the game after Flacco and Lock.

A fourth-year veteran, Hogan was thisclose to losing his roster spot following the relative emerge of Lock, whose recovery is expected to carry over into the regular season, affecting the Broncos’ 53-man roster makeup.

“We have such a good quarterback room,” Hogan said after the game. “We are all brothers and are all pushing each other to get better. We have great chemistry. We are all hoping that Drew is fine and going to be back tomorrow or as soon as possible. It is just the next guy up. We feel like we have a lot of talent in the room and any one of us can go out and make plays. We are all rooting for each other and pulling for each other when we are out there.”


Flacco Reacts to Lock’s Injury

The Broncos’ understood quarterback was made available to the media for the first time since Lock’s multi-week prognosis was reported. In typical Flacco fashion, he made reporters work for their soundbite.

“I mean, I was just sitting with him in the cafeteria but it’s not like his thumb came up,” he said, via Ryan Koenigsberg of BSN Denver. “You guys are more interested in that than we are.”


Last Hurrah for Hogan

For all intents and purposes, this is Hogan’s final chance to prove he belongs. A remarkably average passer, he’s been wholly uninspiring through three exhibition contests, but stands to benefit the most from Lock’s inactivity.

As it stands, he’s locked into No. 2 duties behind Flacco, though another subpar showing or an excellent outing by Rypien could cause Denver some pause. Say this for Hogan, however: He’s uttering all the right things with Aug. 31 cutdown day fast approaching.

“I just want to show I can run the offense; go be efficient, convert on third downs, stay on the field,” he said Thursday. “Get in the red zone, and try to get touchdowns instead of field goals.”


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Follow Zack Kelberman on Twitter @KelbermanNFL