Drew Lock leads list of key Broncos who could now be available to play

 Drew Lock leads a list of key Broncos players who may now be able to play vs. the Patriots.

The Denver Broncos’ game against the New England Patriots was postponed not only one time, but twice.

After the NFL moved the game from an 11:00 AM (MT) start to a 2:25 PM (MT) start, they moved the game off of the Sunday slate altogether and had the Broncos traveling to New England on Monday to play a 3:00 PM (MT) game.

As odd as that was, the Broncos were ready to roll with the punches, even without starting quarterback Drew Lock if need be.

Lock practiced most of last week leading up to the Patriots game, and while head coach Vic Fangio revealed it was ‘unlikely’ that Lock would have played in that game (meaning Brett Rypien would have gotten the starting nod), there was a chance of it happening based on the way Lock had looked in practice and the way he progressed throughout the week.

The thinking has been that Lock, if he didn’t play against New England, would have a really good chance of playing the following week against Miami. The Broncos’ schedule has now been re-shuffled completely:

The fact that the Broncos’ official account posted this on Twitter should be all of the indication we really need as to Lock’s status for week six against New England.

By the time the Broncos actually take the field against the Patriots (assuming that actually happens in week six), they could have not only Lock but a wide variety of players healthy who have been unable to contribute in recent weeks.

Phillip Lindsay, RB

One thing that hasn’t been talked about a ton is the fact that the Broncos have only had one half of football in 2020 with Phillip Lindsay on the field.

Unlike with Drew Lock, there was no question that Lindsay was poised to make a return to the field in week five with a turf toe injury suffered against the Titans.

His toughness, explosiveness, and ability to create offense out of nothing will be absolutely huge for the Broncos’ offense.

Noah Fant, TE

Noah Fant wasn’t likely to play against the Patriots this past weekend with an ankle issue, but his injury is considered of the week-to-week variety and he started getting some work with the training staff last week.

Fant will likely be eased in slowly this week at practice, so it won’t be surprising if the team gives him some extra time given the grueling stretch of games ahead, but he could also be back on the field as soon as this week.

AJ Bouye, CB

AJ Bouye, one of two big-name offseason pickups to land on IR in the first four weeks of the 2020 season, has a chance to make his return in week six against the Patriots.

Bouye was placed on IR after week one, starting a mandatory three-week minimum countdown for any possible return to the field. That doesn’t mean that Bouye would have come back immediately, evidenced by the fact that the Broncos could have brought him off of IR last week, but he is eligible to come off of IR.

Fangio characterized Bouye last week as a ‘long shot’ to play, so maybe he’s close enough to actually start considering it.

KJ Hamler, WR

This may be the most optimistic of them all considering Hamler had no chance of playing in week five, but would 17 days be long enough for the second-round pick to recover from his latest hamstring issue?

The Broncos obviously don’t want to rush him back out there and have to go on this rollercoaster ride all season with Hamler and hamstring injuries, but hopefully, he’ll be closer to full health sooner than later.

In addition to some other players potentially getting healthy, the Broncos have a good chance to take on the Patriots at about as “full strength” as they could hope to be at this juncture with all long-term injuries considered.

Even having just Lock and Lindsay back in the lineup would be massive for the Broncos, so getting the rest of these players off of the injury report would be a big victory.