ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — When a pitcher develops a blister on his pitching hand, he gets pulled from the game.
As Broncos quarterback Drew Lock occasionally looked at his passing hand during OTA practice Monday only to stay in and pass with some inconsistency, it raised a question.
"I think he had a little blister on one of his fingers," Broncos head coach Vic Fangio said in a Zoom press conference following the Broncos’ OTA practice Monday. "That was part of the issue that you might be alluding to. I don’t know how much it bothered him."
There were several Lock throws where the blister didn’t seem to bother him. Those were the over-the-middle throws that Lock almost always delivers impressively. But with the Broncos going through 11 on 11 team drills Monday for the first time this offseason, Lock also threw two interceptions and had at least one other near miss.
> Video above: Klis & Tell: Broncos underway with OTAs, different approach vs. Chiefs.
Exchanging first-team series’ with veteran Teddy Bridgewater, Lock appeared to be the second-best quarterback Monday, as was the case during the previous media viewing period last Tuesday.
Lock seems determined to work on his receiver progressions while taking the shorter throw this offseason and the result seems to be he’s out of rhythm. Fangio wasn’t talking specifically about Lock when he said the following, but he may as well have been based on OTA observations made by 9NEWS.
"You don't want guys pressing," Fangio said. "Two players you don’t want as coaches—one that doesn’t do anything the coaches tell him to do, and two, only does what the coaches tell him to do. There's a fine line of moving on and seeing more than maybe you're schooled to see. You have to find that happy medium all the time."
Broncos, COVID and vaccinations
Count left guard Dalton Risner among the small, if no longer uncommon group of people who have come down with COVID-19 after receiving their first vaccination shot.
"I’m actually double vaccinated now," Risner said Monday. "But yes, I did get my first vaccination and then I caught COVID-19. It’s just a fluke situation. It was tough. For the first three days, I was mad. I had to sit at home, I had to start my quarantine. I didn’t have any symptoms, and then I broke out and I was pretty down, bad, then I was good for a while.
"I finished up my quarantine and now I get to be back with the boys. The hardest part was probably being in a fetal position with a fever, but even harder than that was not being out here with the boys. Man, I missed being out here. It’s been great being out here the last two weeks. Our team has done a great job of getting vaccinated. I think the more guys that get it, the better it’ll be from an operational standpoint here at the Broncos."
Fangio indicated approximately 60 of the Broncos’ 90 players have either been vaccinated or say they will soon.
"I don’t think we'll get all 90," Fangio said. "Hopefully we'll get as many as we can for a couple reasons. Me personally—and I know everybody has personal opinions—I think it's the right thing to do medically. People disagree with that and that's OK. I think it’ll have a positive effect on the team, both from an operations standpoint and everybody making the decision with the team in mind. I don’t think we'll have 90. Hopefully we'll have a good amount, though."
Bicycle, Bicycle
9NEWS caught a glimpse of inside linebacker Alexander Johnson riding his bike to practice a couple weeks ago. He says he rides his bike to Broncos headquarters about once a week.
"I like biking, and it’s not a far bike ride," Johnson said. "I enjoy it."
Alumni golf outing
Approximately 50 former Broncos players, including Ring of Famers Steve Atwater, Dennis Smith, Karl Mecklenburg and Haven Moses, teed off Monday morning at the Omni Interlocken Golf Resort for the 14th Annual Broncos Alumni Golf Tournament. Steve Foley’s fivesome won the tournament with Jeb Putzier’s group finishing second and Randy Rich’s team coming in third.
The tournament benefitted Cleats for Kids.
Bronco Bits
The Broncos signed former Houston Texan inside linebacker and core special teamer Peter Kalambayi and waived safety Chris Cooper. Kalambayi played in 41 games the past three years. Broncos’ first-year general manager George Paton has quietly upgraded special teams this offseason with the additions of Mike Boone, Natrez Patrick, Kalambayi and sixth-round rookie Seth Williams. …
Left tackle Garett Bolles (family) and right tackle Bobbie Massie (strained pec) did not attend practice Monday. Neither did safety Kareem Jackson, cornerback Ronald Darby, tight end Noah Fant (wisdom teeth pulled), receivers K.J. Hamler and Tim Patrick (hamstrings), defensive lineman Shelby Harris (skin procedure) and linebacker Brandon Browning (lower leg). Still rehabbing injuries are Bradley Chubb (knee), Mike Purcell (foot) and Duke Dawson Jr. (knee). …
Veteran cornerback Kyle Fuller participated Monday in his first Broncos practice. That leaves running back Melvin Gordon III as the only Broncos player who has yet to join the team’s offseason program. Gordon told 9NEWS a couple weeks ago he would attend next week’s mandatory minicamp.
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