Team news: Seattle Seahawks | Page 44

Broncos boss John Elway told reporters last night that rookie quarterback Drew Lock would be placed on injured reserve today because of his preseason thumb injury. That will keep him from practicing for at least six weeks and out of at least eight games, so they’ll have to find a backup for Joe Flacco since they released Kevin Hogan yesterday.

Elway also said that tight end Jake Butt and running back Theo Riddick would join Lock on injured reserve today, giving them three roster spots to add, in addition to any shuffling they may want to do with waiver claims.

The Broncos will need a backup to Flacco. Lock's season isn't lost the team said. He'll be able to do everything other than be on the football field, so the team expects him to learn the offense and understand what's going on.

The New England Patriots acquired TE Eric Saubert from the Atlanta Falcons for a conditional seventh-round pick, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The Patriots have certainly been busy acquiring tight ends this offseason, especially recently, as they've also added Matt LaCosse and Lance Kendricks. Recently unretired Ben Watson is suspended for the first four games of the season. Saubert seemed to fall out of favor in Atlanta behind Austin Hooper, Luke Stocker and Logan Paulsen. We've seen the Patriots turn other team's castoffs into treasure, but the TE group is still very crowded in New England. LaCosse looks like the early favorite to start, at least while Watson is suspended.

While speaking after practice Friday, Denver Broncos head coach Vic Fangio was asked about rookie quarterback Drew Lock and he was quite honest about Lock. Per Mike Klis of 9News, Fangio said of Lock "his college offense had no carryover to pro offenses. He was under duress a lot ... I don’t think he’s as far along being an NFL-ready QB as he could have been. … He’s not a QB yet. He’s a hard-throwing pitcher who doesn’t know how to pitch yet.’’

Not that there was much of a chance Lock would unseat Joe Flacco as the starting quarterback this season anyway, but this quote from Fangio shows Lock has a long way to go before becoming a starter. It speaks to why he went from a presumably top-ten pick in the draft among those in the media to the No. 42 selection. The issues with Lock's contract didn't help his cause either. Either way, there is not a lot of love, fantasy-wise, for the quarterback situation in Denver, despite the weapons on offense. Flacco is ranked No. 30 among quarterbacks, while Lock is not in the current top 41.

When the Denver Broncos open training camp Thursday, the team may do so without second-round draft picks Dalton Risner and Drew Lock, KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis first reported Tuesday. The news has since been confirmed by multiple media outlets.

Risner, who is projected to be the starting left guard this season, was selected 41st overall, one pick before Lock at No. 42. Being that he was a higher selection, Risner wants to be paid more than Lock.

Lock, a quarterback, wants more guaranteed money than his new teammate because QBs are usually among the highest-paid positions in the NFL. That’s also fair, but it’s debatable if it’s worth holding out over.

Related players: Joe Flacco

While Flacco is likely the starter, Lock will obviously miss key time in camp if he's not there. He's expected to be the backup QB this season with Kevin Hogan and Brett Rypien the only other QBs on the roster. Rookies are to report Wednesday.

Seattle has six tight ends on its roster heading into camp — fewer than it usually has, which is likely in large part because of Fant. Those six are: Will Dissly, Ed Dickson, Jacob Hollister, Nick Vannett, Tyrone Swoopes and Justin Johnson, the latter an undrafted free agent out of Mississippi State.

When I did a 53-man roster projection following minicamp, I kept three tight ends — Dissly, Vannett and Hollister.

Bob Condotta is the author and believes Dissly, who we have as the highest ranked Seattle TE, could end up on the PUP list to start camp and added the team will be patient with him and his patellar tendon injury. Hollister was acquired in a deal with the Patriots and the team seems high on him because of his speed. The story said Dickson will be 32 at the start of camp and the team could save $3.55 million by releasing him.

Each time Sam Darnold drops back, he has options on every level of the field. Darnold, who, like Alex Smith, doesn’t receive enough credit for his athleticism, runs his fair share of read options and has the choice of keeping it or not. This puts stress on the defense. The pace is significantly higher than under Chan Gailey, John Morton or Bates.

Also from Connor Hughes of The Athletic, "I came away incredibly impressed with both Darnold’s arm strength and accuracy. He threw three perfect bombs to Robby Anderson (once) and Quincy Enunwa (twice) at different times during the six media-open workouts."

This faster speed of play is good news for the entire Jets offense when it comes to fantasy ceilings, and most can currently be had for very cheap. Sam Darnold averaged 13.0 fantasy points last season over 13 games and should have no trouble besting that in his sophomore year in the league. He makes for a great value stack in best-ball leagues with WR Robby Anderson and TE Chris Herndon, or a late-round redraft QB that has solid potential to outperform his ADP.

Related Players: Robby Anderson, Quincy Enunwa, Chris Herndon

Sean McVay said Rams WR Cooper Kupp is making good progress and on pace to be ready to go for training camp.

In the seven games where Kupp played at least half the snaps, he averaged 5.7 catches for 81 yards and 0.86 touchdowns on 7.9 targets. That’s a 91-1294-13.7 pace. Fantasy-wise, that’s about what Adam Thielen scored as last year’s No. 7 receiver. Since entering the league, he has played at a high-end WR2 pace. It's good news that he's on track to be ready for camp.