The Denver Broncos found out Saturday that none of their quarterbacks would be available for Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints.
Denver ended up using practice squad quarterback Kendall Hinton at QB for most of Sunday’s matchup which the Saints won 31-3.
Here’s what Broncos head Vic Fangio and Hinton said after the loss.
Fangio on the NFL's decision to hold out the team's quarterbacks due to COVID-19 protocols: "I was disappointed on a couple levels. That our quarterbacks put us in this position and that our quarterbacks put the league in this position. We count on them to be the leaders of the team and leaders of the offense and those guys made a mistake and that is disappointing. Obviously, I haven't done a good enough job of selling the protocols to them when they are on their own so part of that could fall on me. I thought I was. We have emphasized it a lot and we're really doing good with COVID up to this point as it relates relative to other teams. There was a failing there and that's disappointing."
Fangio on how Hinton did today at quarterback: "He did everything he could. He was excited for the opportunity. We had about a two, three, four-hour window to get him ready, which isn't a lot obviously. He was excited for it. We were excited for him; his teammates were excited for him. That's a big, big ask and it just didn't work out."
Fangio on why the Broncos other quarterbacks were deemed high risk close contacts: "On Tuesday, of this past week, the players were off but they came in as a group to do work on their own, which is commendable. They got together and were watching video and they got lax with their masks I guess and lax with their distancing."
Fangio on how he came to the decision to start Hinton at QB: "Those were the options, you saw them. The wildcat every play, Kendall had some experience playing quarterback in college. That's about what our choices were."
Hinton on the last 24 hours: "Yeah, I can easily say that was the most eventful 24 hours of my life, but when I got the call there was pure excitement. Of course, there was nerves and disbelief, but the encouragement the team gave me and guys just keeping me up the whole time. They made it a lot easier for me."
Hinton on the challenge: "Yeah, coming in I knew that I had no idea what the speed of the game was like. I'm familiar with our concepts but it's a lot different from quarterback. So, coming in we knew it'd be a tough situation for sure. That was a challenge that I wanted to take on."
Hinton on if he ever thought he would play quarterback again before today: "No, I never thought I'd be back in the reigns, but as time went on and I felt the guys having my back it did make me feel comfortable being more vocal and playing that quarterback role that I was familiar with. So, yeah, it took some time, but after a while it's like riding a bike."
Hinton on if he expected to play better: "Yes, absolutely I expected to play to play better. The Saints have a great defense, but I honestly don't feel like I played nearly to the best of my ability. And of course, a day or two of practice would have definitely helped. I definitely think I could have did more things out there."
