Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos activated quarterbacks Drew Lock, Brett Rypien and Blake Bortles from the reserve/COVID-19 list on Tuesday, the team announced.

All three were held out of Sunday's contest against the New Orleans Saints, though their presence on that list does not confirm any of the three contracted the coronavirus. The NFL requires all close contacts of those who test positive to go on reserve/COVID-19 list for at least five days. 

The Broncos lost to the Saints 31-3 using wideout Kendall Hinton under center. 

Hinton, a former backup quarterback at Wake Forest, is in his first year with Denver after signing as an undrafted free agent in April. He completed one of nine passing attempts for 13 yards with two interceptions. Overall, Denver tallied 112 total yards.

Broncos head coach Vic Fangio said all three quarterbacks on the reserve/COVID-19 list were asymptomatic and continued to test negative over the weekend. 

The trio will now be able to practice ahead of Week 13 against the Kansas City Chiefs. 

Fangio told reporters Tuesday the club had not discussed isolating Bortles in case of another QB emergency, saying he believed the Broncos would "be fine" if they follow the league's protocols, per Aric DiLalla of DenverBroncos.com.

On Monday, Fangio said the quarterbacks may face additional team punishment for conduct that led to their ineligibility Sunday. 

"We're going to consider all that and, again, try to see what the league, if they have anything planned and if not, we'll take our measures,'' Fangio said. " "Everything's on the table, but right now I would say it's more the fine mode.''

Former Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Kyle Shurmur is headed to the Denver Broncos, as Denver's quarterback room is feeling the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Monday that Shurmur, the son of Broncos offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur, is signing with the team and will join his father once he moves through the league's COVID-19 protocols.

The Broncos played without a quarterback in a 31-3 loss to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, with Drew Lock, Jeff Driskel, Brett Rypien and Blake Bortles all on the league's reserve/COVID-19 list.

Practice squad wide receiver Kendall Hinton, who played quarterback for three years at Wake Forest, stepped up under center for the team Sunday. He completed one pass for 13 yards and was intercepted twice as Denver's offense produced just 112 yards overall.

Shurmur played collegiately at Vanderbilt, where he threw for 3,130 yards and 24 touchdowns with a 62.6 completion percentage as a senior in 2018 before going undrafted and signing with the Chiefs' practice squad. The defending Super Bowl champions released him in April.

The Commodores' all-time leader in passing (8,865 yards and 64 touchdowns) returned to his alma mater as a volunteer coach this season, working as an offensive quality control coach and working toward a master's degree in finance, according to Adam Sparks of the Nashville Tennessean.

ESPN's Jeff Legwold reported that the Broncos—including Lock, Rypien and Bortles—tested negative for the virus Monday, but the quarterbacks would need to test negative again Tuesday before rejoining the team.

The Broncos are under investigation by the league for breaking protocols, according to Schefter, and head coach Vic Fangio did not rule out the possibility of punishment from the team through suspensions or fines. Denver was already disciplined by the league this year, with the franchise and Fangio fined a total of $350,000 for failure to follow mask protocols.

The Denver Broncos' COVID-19 tests from Sunday came back negative a day after the team played without a quarterback in a 31-3 loss to the New Orleans Saints.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the result of the tests. The entire Broncos quarterback depth chart was ineligible for Sunday's game after Drew Lock, Brett Rypien and Blake Bortles had close contact with a COVID-19 positive person. Jeff Driskel was placed on the reserve/COVID list last week.

An NFL investigation found Lock, Rypien and Bortles had recently interacted with Driskel while none of them were wearing masks, a violation of league policy.

The Broncos had lobbied the league to push their game to later in the week, a request the NFL denied. Had the contest been moved, it's likely at least one of their quarterbacks would have been able to play. 

Denver safety Kareem Jackson told reporters he feels the league chose to make an example out of the team:

"I feel like maybe [the game] could have been moved, but at the same time, maybe the league was making an example of us as far as maybe not doing the things we needed to do in that particular room, that quarterback room,'' Jackson said. "Obviously, the guys didn't follow their protocols, and for [the NFL] to see that, I guess they felt like they had to make an example, so at the end of [the] day, it is what it is.

"... Obviously, it's our guys' fault for not wearing their masks, but at least maybe move the game to the next day or whenever so we're given a fighting chance. [It's] obviously disappointing. I'm not sure why it wasn't moved. I have no clue ... as a competitor, [it is] definitely frustrating."

Kendall Hinton, a practice squad wide receiver, took the snaps under center against the Saints. He completed just one of nine pass attempts for 13 yards and two interceptions. 

Coach Vic Fangio told the media he was "disappointed" in his quarterbacks for putting the team in the unfortunate situation. It's expected the Broncos will face some level of punishment for violating league policy.      

The Denver Broncos never had a chance against the New Orleans Saints with all their quarterbacks ineligible because of COVID-19 concerns, and safety Kareem Jackson believes the NFL might have attempted to send the team a message by not moving the game.  

Jeff Legwold of ESPN shared Jackson's comments, which came after the Saints' 31-3 win:

"I feel like maybe [the game] could have been moved, but at the same time, maybe the league was making an example of us as far as maybe not doing the things we needed to do in that particular room, that quarterback room. Obviously the guys didn't follow their protocols and for [the NFL] to see that I guess they felt like they had to make an example. So at the end of day, it is what it is. 

" ... Obviously it's our guys' fault for not wearing their masks, but at least maybe move the game to the next day or whenever, so we're given a fighting chance. [It's] obviously disappointing. I'm not sure why it wasn't moved. I have no clue ... as a competitor [it is] definitely frustrating.''

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the Broncos asked NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to move the game to Tuesday, which is something that has been done multiple times this year for teams that have experienced a COVID-19 outbreak, but he denied the requests.

What's more, the league told the Broncos they could not start offensive quality control coach Rob Calabrese at quarterback because it wants to prevent a situation in which teams could store potential players on the coaching staff.

With Calabrese off the table, the Broncos turned to practice squad wide receiver Kendall Hinton at quarterback since he played the position at Wake Forest. They also mixed in direct snaps to running backs Royce Freeman and Phillip Lindsay.

Hinton went 1-of-9 for 13 yards and two interceptions for a Broncos offense that finished with 112 total yards.

Legwold explained Jeff Driskel tested positive for COVID-19, while fellow quarterbacks Drew Lock, Brett Rypien and Blake Bortles were deemed high-risk close contacts after they didn't wear masks or socially distance at the facility.

"I was disappointed on a couple levels that our quarterbacks put us in this position, that our quarterbacks put the league in that position, we count on them to be the leaders of the team, the leaders of the offense, and those guys made a mistake and that is disappointing," head coach Vic Fangio said. "Obviously, I haven't done a good enough job of selling the protocols to them when they're on their own ... There was a failing there and that's disappointing."

The result was a blowout loss—and, if Jackson is to be believed, perhaps a lesson learned from a league looking to send a message.

Kendall Hinton accentuated the positive after he was thrust into the Denver Broncos' starting quarterback role for Sunday's 31-3 loss to the New Orleans Saints.  

Hinton told reporters this wasn't how he had envisioned making his NFL debut but that it was an "amazing" opportunity:

The 23-year-old also lamented how little time he had to prepare.

"I honestly don't feel like I played nearly to be the best of my ability," he said to reporters. "... A day or two of practice definitely would've helped."

Denver entered the day without an eligible quarterback. Jeff Driskel went on the reserve/COVID-19 list, while Blake Bortles, Drew Lock and Brett Rypien were flagged as close contacts.

As a result, the Broncos had to turn to Hinton, an undrafted rookie who threw 251 passes over a five-year career at Wake Forest. 

Not surprisingly, the experiment didn't go well. Hinton finished 1-of-9 for 13 yards and two interceptions. He was basically in a no-win situation.

Rather than criticizing Hinton, head coach Vic Fangio directed his ire to the quarterbacks who weren't there.

"I was disappointed on several levels, that our QBs put us in that position, that our QBs put the league in that position," he told reporters. "We count on them to be the leaders of our team, the leaders of our offense, and those guys made a mistake. I haven't done a good enough job of selling the protocols to them when they're on their own. That's on me."

Hinton would probably make incremental improvements on the field if he had a full week to prepare for the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 13.

In the event the Broncos are again without any of Driskel, Bortles, Lock or Rypien, they'd likely still be better off with a more experienced quarterback on a temporary basis.

Denver Broncos head coach Vic Fangio said he was unhappy with quarterbacks Drew Lock, Brett Rypien and Blake Bortles after all three were ineligible to play in Sunday's 31-3 loss to the New Orleans Saints because they failed to follow the NFL's COVID-19 protocols.

"I was disappointed on several levels, that our quarterbacks put us in that position, that our quarterbacks put the league in that position," Fangio told reporters. "We count on them to be the leaders of our team, the leaders of our offense, and those guys made a mistake."

According to ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio, surveillance video footage from the Broncos quarterback meeting room showed "an issue with the quarterbacks properly wearing their masks." The team reportedly shared that information with the NFL, leading to the entire position group being placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

With no quarterbacks on the roster, the team turned to the coaching staff. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the Broncos "wanted their starting quarterback to be Rob Calabrese, their offensive quality control coach for the past two years. Denver felt that Calabrese had the strongest command of its offense and he could run the system better than anybody."

The NFL nixed those plans, however, "saying that the Broncos could not activate a coach to their active roster. The league doesn't want coaching staffs being storage areas for potential players, sources said."

So instead of starting an assistant coach at quarterback, a sentence that could only be written in 2020, the team turned to practice squad receiver Kendall Hinton, who played quarterback at Wake Forest in his college career.

That...didn't go well. Hinton finished the game 1-of-9 for 13 yards and two interceptions. He was sacked once. Forced into a one-dimensional offense, the Broncos as a team managed just 112 yards from scrimmage and six first downs.

To put that into perspective, five running backs this week have had more than 112 rushing yards by themselves, and seven receivers thus far have posted at least 112 receiving yards. Tyreek Hill alone (269 receiving yards) more than doubled Denver's total yardage output.

The Broncos' lack of quarterbacks this week essentially guaranteed them a loss against a good Saints team.

Denver Broncos quarterback Drew Lock addressed his absence ahead of Sunday's game against the New Orleans Saints as the team will be without any of its quarterbacks because of COVID-19 contact tracing.

"In a controlled and socially distanced area, we let our masking slip for a limited amount of time," Lock wrote in a statement he posted to Twitter. "An honest mistake, but one I will own."

"I sincerely apologize and I fully understand why these safety precautions are so important. Doing the right thing for a majority of the time is not good enough."

With Lock, Jeff Driskel, Brett Rypien and Blake Bortles all unavailable, the Broncos announced they were promoting Kendall Hinton from their practice squad.

Hinton was a backup quarterback at Wake Forest before moving to wide receiver during the 2018 season. He threw for 1,504 yards, eight touchdowns and seven interceptions for the Demon Deacons.

NFL Network's James Palmer noted Denver has listed running back Royce Freeman as its emergency quarterback in the past, so he could get the opportunity to line up under center as well.

Adam Schefter of ESPN reported the Broncos also looked into whether they could use Rob Calabrese, an offensive quality control coach on their staff.

"Denver felt that Calabrese had the strongest command of its offense and he could run the system better than anybody, sources told ESPN," Schefter wrote.

The NFL denied Denver's request to activate Calabrese.

Beyond the impact on Sunday's game, the mistakes Lock referenced could have larger effects for the franchise.

According to Schefter, the Broncos are preparing for the NFL to levy some form of punishment—perhaps a fine and the forfeiture of a draft pick—for failing to properly follow the league's COVID-19 health and safety protocols.

A move from the practice squad to starting quarterback of the Denver Broncos will lead to a $35,882.35 game check for Kendall Hinton, per Darren Rovell of Action Network.

Hinton was elevated to the active roster Sunday after quarterbacks Drew Lock, Brett Rypien and Blake Bortles were all put on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Jeff Driskel had previously been placed on the list, leaving the Broncos with no active quarterbacks.

Though Hinton had been playing receiver for Denver's practice squad, he spent some time at quarterback in college for Wake Forest.

The 23-year-old totaled 1,504 passing yards and eight touchdowns across five seasons at the college level, mostly spending time as a backup quarterback. He converted to receiver in 2019 and finished with 1,001 receiving yards and four touchdowns on 73 catches.

His work as a wideout gained attention from NFL teams, and he signed with Denver as an undrafted free agent.

The Broncos will now try him out at quarterback despite having virtually no practice to prepare:

Even if he struggles, the increased salary will help after initially signing a contract worth just $75,600 for the whole season, per Spotrac.

The NFL reportedly denied a request by the Denver Broncos to sign offensive quality control coach Rob Calabrese to their active roster for Sunday's game against the New Orleans Saints.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the Broncos felt Calabrese would have given them their best chance to field a quarterback who is ready to play Sunday. Practice squad receiver Kendall Hinton, who served as a backup quarterback at Wake Forest, is expected to start under center now that the Broncos are without an eligible quarterback on their roster.

Calabrese played quarterback and wide receiver at UCF from 2008 to 2012. He threw 254 collegiate passes, recording 1,276 yards and 12 touchdowns against seven interceptions.

Hinton threw for 1,504 yards and eight touchdowns against seven picks during his career at Wake Forest. While he has the more recent experience at the position, his knowledge of the playbook in comparison to Calabrese is understandably lacking.

The NFL reportedly does not want to set a precedent of players being stashed on coaching staffs, so they denied the Broncos' request. Denver also attempted to have the league push back Sunday's game to Tuesday, but that request was denied. 

Schefter's report says the Broncos feel the NFL is being "unreasonable."

Signal-callers Drew Lock, Brett Rypien and Blake Bortles are ineligible to play on account of their close contact with a COVID-19 positive person. Backup quarterback Jeff Driskel is currently on the reserve/COVID-19 list. 

It is believed the quarterbacks interacted with Driskel while not wearing a mask, a violation of league policy.

The "next man up" mantra is taking on a whole new meaning in Denver.

All three available Broncos quarterbacks are ineligible to play Sunday against the New Orleans Saints after being deemed "high-risk, close contacts," according to ESPN's Adam Schefter:

Broncos wide receiver Jerry Jeudy is apparently up for the challenge, however:

Jeudy posts a 4.46-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine and runs sharp routes, so he could be very hard to catch in the open field, much like Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson.

However, it doesn't appear Jeudy will get the chance.

Benjamin Allbright of KOA News Radio reported Saturday that wideout Kendall Hinton, who played quarterback at Wake Forest before converting to wide receiver, will likely get called up from the practice squad and start the game.

The Saints and Broncos are set to kick off Sunday at 4:05 p.m. ET in Denver.