Drew Lock's beginning to his rookie season did not go as planned. The Denver Broncos placed the Missouri product on the injured reserve list due to a thumb injury. He did not play until Week 13, against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Lock sustained the thumb injury during the preseason. When Broncos general manager and Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway told him he'd be going on the injured reserve, he wanted Lock to get a certain message: it's not a vacation.
On recalling the conversation when Elway told him he'd start his NFL career on the injured reserve, Lock said on Thursday, via Arnie Stapleton of The Associated Press:
“Right as I was leaving the room, he said, ‘Just don’t take this as a vacation year.’ “I said, all right, there might be this sliver of hope, a sliver of a chance that I end up playing at the end of this year.”
That stuck with him. Though he wouldn't be on the field in practice or on Sundays, Lock remembered that sliver of hope that he would play. “That stuck with me: ‘Don’t take this as a vacation year.'”
Lock wound-up playing. In his four games as the lead quarterback for the Broncos, the 23-year-old has looked the part, recording a 3-1 record. In his limited playing time, the Missouri native has tallied 843 yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions on a 64.8% completion rate.
One of the NFL's greatest quarterbacks of all-time told Lock not to rest when he could have. Now, he looks to be Elway's franchise passer.
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