The Denver Broncos might be tempted to move on from Joe Flacco amid a 2-5 start, but the team doesn't feel rookie Drew Lock is ready to take over.

Lock, a second-round pick, is expected to start practicing again soon, in hopes of returning from the broken thumb that landed him on injured reserve.

Injury not withstanding, John Elway indicated during a recent interview that Lock isn't close to ready.

"I will say this: The most important thing for a young quarterback is not to put him out there before he’s ready," Elway said. "So that is the most important thing and if he's not ready, we're not going to put him out there. That is the key thing. And as you know dealing with quarterbacks, it's a very tough thing because if you don't put him in a situation where he has a chance to be successful and he's not successful, the whole roof will cave in. So we have to make sure that Drew is ready when he does get in there, if he does get in there.

"We're still in the process of evaluating that. He is not ready to go right now, I will tell you that."