Denver Broncos players complain about having to play without a QB

The Denver Broncos vented their frustrations after all of their quarterbacks were ruled out of Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints.

This Sunday’s game between the New Orleans Saints and the Denver Broncos was altered drastically one day prior due to the coronavirus pandemic. On Saturday, the Saints announced that starting left tackle Terron Armstead tested positive for COVID-19, officially ruling him out of the Week 12 contest. Things only got worse from there, as all Broncos quarterbacks were ruled ineligible for the Saints game due to Jeff Driskel yielding a positive COVID-19 test.

After news broke that Drew Lock, Brett Rypien and Blake Bortles were all listed as high-risk close contacts and ruled out for the contest, a variety of Broncos players complained about the team being forced to play without a quarterback.

The Broncos only have themselves to blame

While yes, not having any quarterback available is detrimental to any team, the Broncos need to look in the mirror.

The reason why Denver’s in this predicament is neither Lock, Rypien nor Bortles were wearing masks while in close proximity with Driskel. Also, the Broncos could’ve had a quarterback remain in quarantine for precautionary measures in case, say, all the quarterbacks came into contact with a player who tested positive for COVID-19. But they didn’t, hence why they’re in this situation right now.

Regardless of how you feel about the whole ordeal, the Broncos have figured out their quarterback conundrum. Practice squad wide receiver Kendall Hinton will reportedly receive the majority of snaps in Sunday’s game against the Saints. Hinton used to be Wake Forest’s starting quarterback for three seasons before switching over to wideout in 2018. Additionally, the Broncos will have running back Royce Freeman available, who was listed as their emergency quarterback.

The Broncos will still play the game as scheduled, but it will be worth monitoring if the number of positive cases on the team increases in the coming days.