AFC West: Broncos move past quarterback debacle
They’re back.
The Broncos welcomed quarterbacks Drew Lock and Brett Rypien to their practice facility Wednesday, thereby ending the debacle that left the team without a quarterback Sunday during a 31-3 home loss to the New Orleans Saints.
Fellow Denver quarterback Jeff Driskel tested positive last week for the coronavirus, and Lock, Rypien and practice squad quarterback Blake Bortles were deemed high-risk contacts. The team learned the quarterbacks weren’t wearing masks during their position meetings.
Broncos coach Vic Fangio told reporters Wednesday that all four quarterbacks were fined an undisclosed amount. Fangio also said that Bortles would not practice with the team Wednesday to limit contact with the other quarterbacks. Driskel remains on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
Denver on Sunday started practice squad wide receiver Kendall Hinton at quarterback. He finished 1 of 9 for 13 yards and two interceptions as the Broncos limped to 113 yards of total offense. Lock apologized for his role in the situation Saturday via Twitter and addressed the situation again Wednesday.
“I feel like this team and everyone that’s been involved has done a great job in protocols. We came in on that Tuesday and got some extra work in when no one was here, and we got too lackadaisical with it,” Lock said. “It ended up hurting us. It hurt this program and I apologize for letting that happen. We could have been better. That’s the point of the matter here. We needed to be perfect and we weren’t perfect.”
Fangio also met this week with Broncos president of football operations John Elway and team CEO Joe Ellis about how the team has handled the coronavirus.
“Everybody gave their opinions and their feelings and their thoughts on everything to do with COVID and how we’ve been handling it from the start of training camp (until) now,” Fangio said. “But, hey, it is what it is, we had that mistake with the quarterbacks, and we have to own it.”
The Broncos play the Chiefs on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium.
Trash to treasure
Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill confessed to Showtime’s “Inside the NFL” that he thought Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes was “trash” during his rookie season.
“When he first got there I was like, ‘This is who y’all drafted right here? This is who y’all drafted?’” Hill said.
“Hey, but look, he proved me into a whole complete — I don’t know,” Hill added. “That second year, his quarterback mechanics were different. It was like he was spending more time with his QB coach, spending more time with Coach (Andy) Reid, like learning the offense. Dude was like different.”
Hill has 1,021 receiving yards and a league-high 13 touchdown receptions. Mahomes is poised to win his second MVP with a 10-1 record, a league-high 3,497 passing yards, 30 TDs and a 115.5 passer rating.
No grievance
Chargers quarterback Tyrod Taylor will not file a grievance against the team, according to NFL Network. Taylor’s lung was punctured in September when a team doctor botched the administration of a pain-killing injection. Rookie Justin Herbert replaced Taylor as the Chargers’ starting quarterback.
Herbert is tied for seventh in the NFL with 23 TD passes.
Contact reporter Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter.
