The Denver Broncos started the week with four quarterbacks on the active roster or the practice squad. They’ll take the field on Sunday to face the New Orleans Saints without any of those quarterbacks available, after a positive COVID test eventually led to the Broncos’ entire quarterback room being ruled ineligible to play.
The Broncos announced Thursday that backup Jeff Driskel had been added to the COVID-19 reserve list. On Saturday, quarterbacks Drew Lock, Brett Rypien and practice squad QB Blake Bortles were determined to be high-risk close contacts, forcing all of them to miss Week 12. The Broncos could reportedly turn to practice squad WR Kendall Hinton, who played quarterback in college for Wake Forest.
After the news broke, many fans on Twitter called for John Elway to get on the phone and bring in an emergency signing. Former Broncos QB Tim Tebow trended on Twitter, as did former 49ers star Colin Kaepernick.
Unfortunately for the Broncos, adding another quarterback from outside the roster isn’t an option. Per the NFL’s 2020 COVID-19 protocol, all new signings enter a quarantine process and must pass multiple tests over a period of several days before becoming eligible to partake in team activities.
That’s not even taking into account the difficulty of installing a new quarterback. It would be nigh impossible for any player to step in on a day’s notice and function as a quarterback in a foreign offense. Unfortunately for the Broncos, they have to stick with the players they have, however unprepared they may be.
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