The Denver Broncos are scheduled to play the Saints without a single available quarterback due to COVID-19.
The Denver Broncos are scheduled to take on the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. According to NFL reporter Adam Schefter, they will be doing so without a quarterback. He means this literally.
Here's how Denver got wiped out at the QB position in a 72-hour span:
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 28, 2020
QB Jeff Driskel tested positive for COVID on Thursday.
Drew Lock, Brett Rypien and Blake Bortles did not wear masks, per a source, and were deemed high-risk close contacts today. They now are out Sunday.
The Broncos sent every quarterback not named Jeff Driskel home earlier this week in hopes of keeping them away from their one backup quarterback who had tested positive for COVID-19. However, those plans clearly didn’t work in a contract-tracing effort because they did not follow protocol and wear masks.
This isn’t that hard.
Now the Broncos are supposed to suit up and face the Saints without having a single person to play the most important position as the Saints visit Mile High on Sunday afternoon.
The NFL has several serious fires ablaze due to the coronavirus heading into Week 12, from a significant number of positive tests plaguing the Baltimore Ravens to new cases on the Pittsburgh Steelers to now the entire quarterback room of the Broncos being infected.
Of course, for teams like the Broncos, this was going to be the primary issue all along. How does the league keep the coaching staff and players of a losing franchise motivated to follow the protocols installed to protect everyone and keep the league intact? For a veteran player who knows he’s only got a couple weeks left of the season, it’s selfish but also easy to kick back and have a good time instead of being on lockdown in a hotel room adhering to rules for a season that’s already lost.
That mindset is toxic but it’s something the NFL has to contend with.
Whether that’s at work in the Broncos roster at this point is something Vic Fangio will have to combat, but it’s notable that no one was following the protocols to wear a mask—as if they were immune or that it was okay to open the door, even slightly, to the potential spread of COVID-19.
At least those of us on the outside can appreciate the humor of knowing the Broncos have no quarterbacks to speak of and not knowing if they mean that literally or figuratively, because that statement has been true of Denver’s roster since Peyton Manning retired from the game in 2016.