Category: Broncos Buzz

Broncos worked out rookie QB Nick Fitzgerald

Former Mississippi State state quarterback Nick Fitzgerald worked out for the Broncos on Tuesday.

The Denver Broncos worked out rookie quarterback Nick Fitzgerald on Tuesday, a person close to the player informed Broncos Wire.

Fitzgerald (6-5, 226 pounds) appeared in 43 games during his time at Mississippi State and completed 54.6 percent of his passes for 6,055 yards with 54 touchdown passes against 28 interceptions. He also rushed for 3,504 and 45 touchdowns and caught one pass for nine yards.

It’s unclear if Denver views Fitzgerald as a QB prospect or if the team is considering him as a player who could change positions. Because of his inaccuracy, Fitzgerald might be asked to change his position.

Fitzgerald signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a college free agent following the NFL draft but he failed to make their 53-man roster. He spent the first month of the season on the Bucs’ practice squad before being waived on Oct. 8. He has remained a free agent since then.

The Broncos have been working out players to consider as future contract options. At the end of the regular season, Denver will sign players to future deals that will become official when the new league year begins in March. Players who sign future deals in January are often longshots to make the final roster.

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Broncos jump four spots in NFL power rankings after Week 13 win

After beating the Chargers in Week 13, the Broncos jumped up four spots in NFL power rankings entering Week 14.

After defeating the Los Angeles Chargers 23-20 in Week 13, the Denver Broncos jumped four spots in Nate Davis’ weekly NFL power rankings for USA TODAY Sports. Denver is now ranked 23rd out of 32 teams. The Broncos are still considered one of the 10 worst teams in the league — at least in the eyes of Davis — but it could be worse.

Here is Davis’ commentary with the Broncos’ ranking:

Nice debut, kid. Now all Drew Lock must do is roll into Houston, then Kansas City, trying to prove John Elway need not draft another quarterback.

Lock completed 64.3 percent of his passes on Sunday for 134 yards with two touchdown passes and one interception. He will start again against the Houston Texans in Week 14.

Denver is the third-ranked team in the AFC West, above the Chargers (No. 24) and below the Oakland Raiders (No. 22) and Kansas City Chiefs (No. 8). The Baltimore Ravens are ranked No. 1 and the New York Giants are ranked No. 32. To view the complete NFL power rankings, click here.

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Champ Bailey, Brian Dawkins named finalists for ‘NFL 100 All-Time Team’

Former Broncos defensive backs Champ Bailey and Brian Dawkins are finalists for the NFL’s all-time team.

Former Denver Broncos defensive backs Champ Bailey and Brian Dawkins have been named finalists for the “NFL 100 All-Time Team,” the league announced this week. Cornerback Willie Brown, who played in Denver from 1963-1966, was also named a finalist.

The NFL will announce which cornerbacks and safeties made the cut on NFL Network on Friday evening.

Bailey was voted to 12 Pro Bowls during his career and is a member of the NFL’s 2000s All-Decade Team and the Broncos’ Top 100 team. He spent 10 seasons in Denver.

Dawkins was voted to nine Pro Bowls during his career and is also a member of the NFL’s 2000s All-Decade Team and the Broncos’ Top 100 team. He only spent three seasons in Denver but he was one of the Broncos’ best defenders during that time.

Last week, DeMarcus Ware (defensive line) and Von Miller (linebacker) were finalists but neither of them made the team. Terrell Davis was a finalist at running back but he did not make the team, either.

The complete team of 100 players and 10 coaches will be revealed on NFL Network on Friday, Dec. 27 in celebration of the league’s 100 years.

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Broncos coach Vic Fangio disappointed by 19,094 no shows, hopes to draw them back

“We’re happy that the ones that did come and we’re working hard to get the ones that didn’t come to feel better about coming,” Fangio said.

Denver Broncos rookie quarterback Drew Lock made his NFL debut on Sunday and defeated the Los Angeles Chargers 23-20. More than 19,000 fans who purchased tickets to the game didn’t show up.

The game was played on Thanksgiving weekend in cold conditions and Denver was 3-8 entering the contest so fan spirits were low. Still, 19,094 no shows is an alarming number.

“I thought that the crowd that we had there was great,” Broncos coach Vic Fangio said during his Monday press conference. “It’s become very evident to me how much the fan base here loves the Broncos and depends on them.

“Our previous home game against Cleveland, it felt like a playoff game — the atmosphere in the stadium, the electricity. It’s disappointing that there were so many no shows [today], but we’re happy that the ones that did come and we’re working hard to get the ones that didn’t come to feel better about coming.”

After turning the offense over to Lock and getting a win over a division rival, Denver seems to be on the right track toward winning back fans.

The Broncos will play at home in Weeks 16 and 17 to close out the year.

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Broncos added a cornerback, lost an offensive lineman last week

The Broncos signed cornerback Shakial Taylor to their 53-man roster last week.

Some fans in Denver might not have noticed that the Broncos made two roster moves over Thanksgiving weekend.

Denver claimed cornerback Shakial Taylor off waivers after he was cut by the Colts. To make room for Taylor on the active roster, the Broncos placed cornerback Cyrus Jones on the reserve/non-football injury list.

Jones has an illness that will apparently keep him out for a while.

Taylor (5-11, 175 pounds) entered the league as a college free agent out of Kansas with Indianapolis in May. He spent part of the year on the Colts’ practice squad and dressed for five games, totaling seven tackles.

In addition to adding a cornerback last week, Denver also lost a reserve offensive lineman. Corey Levin left the Broncos’ practice squad to sign with the Bears, joining Chicago’s 53-man roster. NFL rules allow practice squad players to sign with another team’s active roster.

Denver filled Levin’s former spot on the practice squad by bringing back rookie quarterback Brett Rypien, who was cut last week to make room for Drew Lock, who was activated from injured reserve.

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Broncos sign QB Brett Rypien to practice squad

The Broncos have re-signed rookie quarterback Brett Rypien to their 10-man practice squad.

The Denver Broncos have signed rookie quarterback Brett Rypien to their 10-man practice squad, the team announced Monday. Rypien was cut last week to make room for Drew Lock on the 53-man roster.

Lock was activated from injured reserve and started against the Los Angeles Chargers, leading the team to a 23-20 win in Week 13.

Rypien cleared waivers over the weekend and now returns to Denver. Rypien played college football at Boise State and signed with the Broncos in May after going undrafted in April. He failed to make Denver’s 53-man roster in September but was added to the practice squad.

Rypien spent the first eight weeks of the season on the practice squad before being promoted to serve as Brandon Allen’s backup in Week 9. Rypien served as Allen’s backup for three games before Lock took over. Allen will now serve as the team’s No. 2 quarterback.

The Broncos had an open spot for Rypien on the practice squad after offensive lineman Corey Levin left the team to sign with the Chicago Bears. Because he was only on the practice squad, Levin was eligible to join Chicago’s active roster.

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Drew Lock aims to be Broncos’ starting QB ‘for a long time’

After helping the Broncos beat the Chargers in Week 13, rookie quarterback Drew Lock will start again against the Texans in Week 14.

The Broncos didn’t officially declare a starting quarterback for Sunday’s game against the Chargers. Denver wanted Los Angeles to have to prepare for both Brandon Allen and Drew Lock.

Seemingly nobody was fooled as it was widely expected that Lock would start. After the rookie QB helped the Broncos defeat the Chargers 23-20 on Sunday, coach Vic Fangio admitted dragging out the decision for competitive reasons was “just playing silly games.”

There won’t be any games this week. The Houston Texans will know Lock will start against them in Week 14.

“I’m telling you now he’s starting next week,” Fangio said Sunday evening. “You don’t have to wait until Saturday.”

Lock completed 18-of-28 passes for 134 yards with two touchdown passes and one interception in the win, good for a 84.5 passer rating. He became Denver’s first rookie QB to win in his debut since Gary Kubiak in 1983.

Lock appreciates his coach’s vote of confidence and hopes to reward that confidence.

“Hopefully [Coach] doesn’t have to talk about the starting quarterback for a long time here,” Lock said after the game. “I think it’s going to be an awesome transition for me to get even more comfortable with the guys around me.

“It was a little different splitting reps with Brandon this week. Now, I feel like I’m the voice, I’m the one guy where I can go in and really start to be myself 24-7 with these guys. They may have thought they saw a little bit of me tonight, they’re going to see a lot of me in the next week.”

Sunday’s game against the Texans will start at 11:00 a.m. MT on CBS.

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WATCH: Highlights from Broncos’ 23-20 win over Chargers

Watch highlights from the Broncos’ win over the Chargers in Week 13 of the 2019 NFL season.

The Denver Broncos defeated the Los Angeles Chargers 23-20 in Week 13, marking rookie quarterback Drew Lock’s first win in the NFL. Here are highlights from the game, courtesy of the NFL:

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To view a photo gallery from Denver’s victory, click here.

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4 takeaways from Broncos’ 23-20 win over Chargers

The Denver Broncos were able to get Drew Lock a win in his first career start in NFL with a 23-20 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers.

You often hear that the NFL is a “week to week” league. That is a true statement.

In one week, you can go from feeling like your team is as bad as it gets to being quite excited after one small change. However, switching quarterbacks should not be considered a small change, particularly when the quarterback is a highly-drafted rookie.

Drew Lock took over as the Broncos quarterback on Sunday and his rookie debut was met with tempered expectations, mainly because the organization seemed hesitant to put him on the field.

He came through with flying colors against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 13, leading the Broncos to their fourth win of the season. Here’s what we took away from this game.

1. Drew Lock showed flashes

(Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)

This is the obvious place to start. Lock wasn’t sensational by any means but he showed flashes while completing 18 of 28 passes and throwing two touchdowns. He did have one interception but for his first start, against a defense that features the likes of Joey Bosa, Melvin Ingram and Derwin James, this effort was more than sufficient.

It’s also exciting for fans to see a quarterback that the team used a high draft pick on getting off to a good start in his career. This team is starving for a “quarterback of the future” and has been for years.

While that may or may not be Lock, this was a good way to start things out on the right foot.

2. Courtland Sutton is a star

(Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)

Sutton is quietly having a tremendous season for the Broncos and is quickly blossoming into one of the game’s top young receivers. He really likes to play the Chargers too.

In two games against Los Angeles this year, Sutton has eight catches for 166 yards and three touchdowns.

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Twitter recap of Drew Lock’s first start for Broncos

The Denver Broncos defeated the Los Angeles Chargers 23-20 with Drew Lock becoming Denver’s 7th starting QB since Peyton Manning retired.

The Denver Broncos beat the Los Angeles Chargers 23-20 on Sunday with Drew Lock becoming the Broncos Denver’s seventh starting quarterback since Peyton Manning retired after the 2015 season. The Week 13 game did not yield a bad luck ending as kicker Brandon McManus hit the game-winning 53-yard field goal before jubilant bone-chilled home fans.

Here is a Twitter recap of the game.

That was 19,094 who did not pay for parking or concessions.

Devontae Booker ran into Chargers punter Ty Long, incurring a 15-yard personal foul. The Chargers retained the football with a first down and then converted the penalty into a field goal.

The Broncos capitalized on a turnover of their own when Brandon McManus hit a 31-yard field goal.

Left guard Ron Leary left the game with a concussion.

The Broncos’ offense was anemic during the second half, scoring only two field goals.

After his second sack of the game, defensive tackle Derek Wolfe left the field due to injury.

Safety Justin Simmons played another strong game with several key tackles.

With 14 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the Chargers tied the game 20-20 with Michael Badgley’s 46-yard field goal. The Broncos regained possession and with nine seconds left, Lock threw an incomplete deep pass Sutton, but cornerback Casey Hayward committed pass interference. The ball moved 37 yards within field goal range.

McManus — with no time left in the game — hit the game-winning 53-yard field goal.

Overall, Lock played a respectable inaugural NFL game, going 18-of-28 for 134 yards, with two touchdowns against one interception, good for an 84.5 passer rating. Phillip Lindsay had 17 rushes for 58 yards. Courtland Sutton caught four passes for 74 yards and two touchdowns. McManus accounted for 11 of the Broncos’ 23 points, with three field goals and two extra points.

Up next for Denver is a road game against the Houston Texans in Week 14.

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