After placing safety Brandon Jones on injured reserve with a pectoral injury, the Denver Broncos are expected to turn to P.J. Locke as a fill-in starter across from Talanoa Hufanga in the secondary.
Locke filled in for an injured Jones in the second half of Sunday’s win against the Green Bay Packers, and coach Sean Payton gave him a positive review following a 34-26 win at home.
“Good,” Payton said when asked about Locke’s performance. “I thought real well, real well. He has played a lot of football.”
Locke (5-10, 202 pounds) has been with the Broncos since 2019. He has 23 career starts on his resume, including 15 starts last season. Locke has played 55% of the special teams snaps so far this season and just 5% of the defensive snaps, but he’s expected to start in the place of Jones going forward.
Jahdae Barron, the team’s first-round draft pick in April, has been playing primarily as a slot cornerback this season, but also has some experience at safety, so he could get rotational reps as well. As things stand now, though, it’s looking like Locke is the next man up at safety, and that’s a remarkable bounce-back after he underwent spinal fusion surgery during the offseason.
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This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: Denver Broncos: P.J. Locke expected to be next man up at safety
