Joe Flacco finished out the 13-15 loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday but was seen on the sideline receiving a massage and medical assistance looking at the right side of his neck. This morning, it is being reported that he is already ruled out for the game next Sunday against the Cleveland Browns.
Free-agent acquisition Brandon Allen and rookie Drew Lock are the only quarterbacks on the roster, and Lock spent the last eight weeks on Injured Reserve nursing a wrist injury he sustained during the preseason.
Week 9 against the Browns is the last game before the Broncos bye week, and since Lock hasn’t been able to practice with the team while on IR, it’s most likely that the Broncos will go with Allen at the quarterback position on Sunday.
Drew Lock should be more ready to start after the Week 10 bye week but nothing officially confirmed. If Flacco is out long term, there will almost certainly be a weekly quarterback competition.
At 2-6, the Broncos’ record indicates they are a bad team, but they have lost three games by late-game heroics and last-second field goals. There is a chance that changing the quarterback and offensive play calling could propel the team back into the win column.
Halfway through the regular season, Joe Flacco hasn’t been anything but a high-priced, mediocre player and the Broncos have proven their offense is bad with him at the helm. Getting important evaluation repetitions for Drew Lock or Brandon Allen for the rest of the season will provide the team invaluable information come draft time, with one of the most talked-about QB classes in quite some time waiting in the 2020 draft.
