Denver Broncos tight end Noah Fant blasted the NFL on Saturday for making the team play amid some tough circumstances.
The Broncos learned on Saturday that all four of their quarterbacks were ruled out for the team’s Week 12 game on Sunday against the New Orleans Saints. Quarterback Jeff Driskel tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, and the other three quarterbacks were determined to be high-risk contacts.
The Broncos will turn to practice squad wide receiver Kendall Hintonat quarterback, and presumably running back Royce Freeman behind him. Fant questioned the NFL for making them play amid such circumstances.
I’m not one to complain, but @NFL y’all can’t possibly send us into a game without a QB. The most important position to a offense. We don’t even got a back up….
— Noah Fant (@nrfant) November 29, 2020
Fant then cracked a joke asking if former Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning was available.
Anybody know if Peyton Manning is busy tomorrow? Laughing but serious
— Noah Fant (@nrfant) November 29, 2020
The team can’t simply sign a quarterback to play because players need to go through COVID testing protocols in order to join a team.
While this is a bad spot for the Broncos, the role they put themselves in played a factor in this. The team’s other quarterbacks may have been cleared to play in the game had they been following protocol by wearing a mask in Driskel’s presence on Wednesday. Additionally, the Broncos and other teams can prevent such a disastrous situation with better preparation, such as keeping one emergency quarterback in quarantine.
Don’t be surprised if some teams start doing this/the league begins to mandate this to avoid another Broncos situation.
Photo: Jeffrey Beall/Wikimedia via cc-by 4.0
