Broncos News: Team actually wanted to use a coach at QB against Saints
The Denver Broncos are in desperation mode at quarterback.
That much was obvious after it was revealed that all four of the quarterbacks on the team’s roster were deemed ineligible to play in Week 12 against the New Orleans Saints, but who knew they were this desperate?
The Broncos will start Kendall Hinton at quarterback on Sunday, a thought unfathomable until the news broke on Saturday evening. Hinton did play some quarterback at Wake Forest after being a quarterback by trade in high school, but he likely wouldn’t have ever been on an NFL roster if not for his transition to wide receiver late in his college career.
Coming up with an offensive gameplan, against one of the league’s better defenses, seems like a daunting task for Broncos offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur.
Apparently, the Broncos went to the league about using one of their coaches at quarterback in this game. Yes, before calling Hinton up from the practice squad, the team floated the idea of using offensive quality control coach Rob Calabrese at the quarterback spot.
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Calabrese is in his second season with the team working under Vic Fangio, and hasn’t played competitively since 2012 when he was in college at Central Florida. At that school, he completed just 46.1 percent of his career passes, throwing for 1,276 yards with 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He added another 251 yards rushing with two more scores.
Still, the thought that the Broncos felt he could lead the team against the Saints better than Hinton, or any other player on the roster, is telling. The league felt that allowing the Broncos to use Calabrese in the game would open the door for teams around the league to store potential players on their coaching staffs, which is a valid argument.
What doesn’t make as much sense is why the league wouldn’t consider postponing the game until another date.
In a season full of wild and crazy stories, this one might be the craziest yet.