Denver Broncos: Why the team should sign Colin Kaepernick

Having three quarterbacks during the COVID-19 pandemic

I’m not sure if the NFL is going to implement special roster exemptions for the 2020 season, but it should be discussed and ultimately they need to add special permissions for this season with the COVID-19 pandemic and the implications of players being forced to miss time with positive tests.

Nothing has been officially stated by the NFL at this point, but it is not unreasonable to assume that if a player contracts the coronavirus, he will be forced to sit out for two weeks.

Let’s just play out a scenario with that.

Let’s say the Broncos are 8-4 going into the final quarter of the 2020 season and they have a real shot at winning the AFC West against the Chiefs who are 9-3. Let’s say sometime after the 12th game of the season, Drew Lock happens to test positive and is forced to sit two weeks. The next week, Jeff Driskel plays and gets hurt or even tests positive himself.

That would leave you with at least one week where you have to use a third-string quarterback in the midst of a playoff hunt.

Of course, if the league is experiencing positive tests at that rapid of a rate, who knows if they will cease play or what they would do?

The point is, it might be more important this year than in any other season to have three quarterbacks on your roster who can play.

The Broncos found out the hard way in 2019 what a couple of injuries at the quarterback position can do to your team.

Having a player like Kaepernick, even not having played since 2016, gives you a better option than other end-of-the-roster alternatives.

It’s never unwise to plan for injury in the NFL, but in a year where quarterbacks could not even be injured or experiencing symptoms and be forced to sit out games makes it all the more necessary to prepare for the best alternatives.