ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — In the first true road game of his career, quarterback Drew Lock should expect quite a bit of action.
Head Coach Vic Fangio detailed the plans for his quarterbacks in Thursday's game against Seahawks, and he said Lock would play "a lot."
"Joe [Flacco]'s going to start [and] play some," Fangio said Tuesday. "We're going to bring in Kevin [Hogan]. He'll play some. Drew will get a good bit of the rest of it, and Brett [Rypien] may or may not play in the game."
Fangio followed up to say that the reps for Flacco, Hogan and Lock would be "a little, a little and a lot," in that order.
The Broncos' head coach said Lock, like any other player, will only get better by getting reps.
"One thing you've got to remember about him now [is] he hardly has ever been under center in his life," Fangio said of Lock. "He's hardly ever had to call a play in his life — a formation and checks. Once he gets through that, I think the other stuff will come easier and quicker. He's learning a new offense [and] how an offense operates. When he becomes more of a quarterback in those regards and feels comfortable [to] where it becomes second nature, the other stuff will start."
As a 12-year veteran, Flacco's use for the preseason is far different. On Thursday, he'll likely play just a few snaps. It's a refresher for Flacco rather than a crash course in something new.
"Well, you just want to go get your feet wet a little bit and you want to feel live action again and bodies flying around you and guys getting hit and taking care of the football," Flacco said. "But most importantly, you want to go out there and you want to move the ball and you want to gain confidence as a group that you can go out there and do it when it counts."
Flacco isn't the only starter who will get his first reps of the preseason.
Outside linebacker Von Miller and tackle Ja'Wuan James will also start, Fangio confirmed. Neither player saw action against Atlanta.
Tight end Jeff Heuerman may play, but Fangio said he underwent treatment on a minor shoulder injury on Tuesday and did not practice Wednesday.
"He still may play Thursday, maybe not," Fangio said. "I don't think it's anything to be concerned about."
Cornerback Bryce Callahan (foot), guard Ron Leary (Achilles) and linebacker Josey Jewell (side) will not play on Thursday.
"I think he'll be fine," Fangio said of Jewell. "He's not going to play Thursday, but I think he'll be fine. Short-term thing."
Fangio said the starting offensive line may play with Hogan, as well, depending on how many snaps they take with Flacco.
"That's kind of fluid," Flacco said.
Fangio did not address the statuses of any other specific starters on Tuesday.
"There are different standards of starters," Fangio said Monday. "There are starters that are well-established and need a certain amount of reps and then there's others that need more. Our guys will play as many reps in the preseason as they would've if we only had four. They're not going to get more. They're not going to get less."
