The Broncos wanted to use a coach as their quarterback after COVID restrictions left them without one, but the NFL said no way

• The Denver Broncos had to play without a quarterback on Sunday after a COVID-19 case in the quarterback room.
• The Broncos reportedly tried to have one of their coaches suit up at quarterback but were overruled by the league.
• The Broncos eventually turned to practice squad wide receiver Kendall Hinton who had never played in an NFL game.

The Denver Broncos had a quarterback emergency heading into the matchup against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.

Earlier in the week, Denver backup quarterback Jeff Driskel tested positive for COVID-19. The rest of the Broncos' quarterbacks were soon placed on the COVID-19/restricted list and ineligible to play against the Saints due to close contact with Driskel without wearing a mask.

With all of their quarterbacks out of commission, the Broncos turned to practice squad wide receiver Kendall Hinton, who played quarterback in college at Wake Forest before switching to wide receiver.

But before turning to Hinton, the Broncos reportedly tried to hand their offense over to a coach. According to a report from ESPN's Adam Schefter, Denver attempted to add offensive quality control coach Rob Calabrese to the active roster to serve as the quarterback on Sunday.

Per Schefter:

Denver felt that Calabrese had the strongest command of its offense and he could run the system better than anybody, sources told ESPN. The league denied those requests that were made throughout the day Saturday, saying that the Broncos could not activate a coach to their active roster. The league doesn't want coaching staffs being storage areas for potential players, sources said.

It makes sense that the Broncos might have faith that a former quarterback intimately familiar with the offense might be their best option in such an emergency. It also makes sense that the NFL would deny such a request, lest the league see a swell of former quarterbacks signed as "assistant coach of emergency quarterback insurance" in the next few weeks.

Still, in an NFL season unlike any other, you can't blame the Broncos for trying.

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