clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

All Broncos quarterbacks ruled ineligible for Week 12 due to Covid-19

Royce Freeman is the Broncos emergency QB. This seems problematic.

Drew Lock #3 of the Denver Broncos calls a play at the line of scrimmage with Lloyd Cushenberry #79 in front of Zach Sieler #92 of the Miami Dolphins during the second quarter at Empower Field At Mile High on November 22, 2020 in Denver, Colorado. Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

UPDATE: The Broncos also have practice wide receiver Kendall Hinton as an option having played QB for three years at Wake Forest.

The Denver Broncos might be about set to start running back Royce Freeman when they take on the New Orleans Saints in Week 12. All three quarterbacks remaining on their roster — Drew Lock, Brett Rypien, and Blake Bortles — have been ruled out due to being deemed high-risk close contacts with Jeff Driskel. The Broncos already placed Driskel on the Covid-19 IR list.

That leaves the Broncos without a true quarterback and no time to add one to the roster due to Covid-19 testing protocols. And per beat writer Mike Klis, that leaves backup running back Royce Freeman as the team’s starting QB.

Teams often have a positional player or special teams player who can take over at quarterback in an emergency. That almost never happens. Of course, nothing is normal in during a pandemic, and so Freeman looks to be the next man up when the Broncos take on the Saints.