Denver Broncos forced to play practice squad receiver Kendall Hinton at quarterback for 31-3 defeat to New Orleans Saints on Sunday; Hinton threw one of nine for 13 yards and two interceptions against Saints
Wednesday 2 December 2020 07:21, UK
Quarterbacks Drew Lock, Brett Rypien and Blake Bortles will be allowed to re-join their team-mates at practice on Wednesday after the Denver Broncos activated them from the reserve/COVID-19 list.
Their return means practice squad receiver Kendall Hinton will not have to be the one taking the snaps against the Kansas City Chiefs (10-1) next weekend as he did in Denver's 31-3 loss to New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
The Broncos (4-7) were forced to play the Saints without any of their quarterbacks after Lock, Rypien and Bortles were deemed high-risk close contacts, having been mask-less around quarterback Jeff Driskel before he tested positive for coronavirus.
The NFL denied Denver's request to push the Saints game back 48 hours, which would have allowed their QBs to return to action.
Lock, Rypien and Bortles were removed from the reserve/COVID-19 list after testing negative on Tuesday for a fifth consecutive day.
Lock and Rypien return to the Broncos active roster, while Bortles returns to the practice squad.
Denver coach Vic Fangio said on Monday that the Broncos would discuss isolating Bortles in case another quarterback issue arises, but he stressed the team should be fine if players follow the league's COVID-19 protocols.
After an extraordinary week that saw one game postponed three times, one team left without a quarterback and one stadium declared off-limits for the rest of the season - all due to Covid-19 - the NFL somehow got through Week 12.
Sky Sports' Neil Reynolds has the final word on another extraordinary weekend in the NFL, picking out his five major takeaways, his player of the week, and what is on his radar heading into Week 13.
Read the full feature here!
