The Broncos will not be forfeiting their game against the Saints after all of their quarterbacks were deemed high-risk close contacts with a player who had tested positive for COVID-19, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The trouble began on Thursday when Jeff Driskel tested positive. Drew Lock, Brett Rypien and Blake Bortles all came into contact with Driskel and were not wearing masks, per Schefter. They were ruled out on Saturday for Sunday’s game.
Rookie wide receiver Kendall Hinton is expected to play “plenty of quarterback” on Sunday, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Hinton has not appeared in a game yet this season, though he spent most of his college career at Wake Forest playing quarterback. In four seasons, he completed 53.0% of his pass attempts for 1,504 yards, eight touchdowns and seven interceptions before switching to receiver as a senior.
Running back Royce Freeman held the title of Denver’s emergency quarterback, according to Ryan O’Halloran of The Denver Post. Freeman was the team’s emergency quarterback in Week 2 when Lock was injured. Freeman has never attempted a pass in an NFL game, though he did complete his only collegiate pass attempt as a freshman in 2014 for a 26-yard touchdown.
On the season, Freeman has 79 rushing yards on 22 attempts, with nine receptions for 73 yards. As a team, Denver ranks last in the league in passer rating (69.0), interceptions (17) and completion rate (56.7%).
