The NFL has to postpone Broncos-Saints

It seemed curious after Jeff Driskel tested positive for COVID-19 that the Broncos’ quarterbacks would be unaffected and able to practice. But on Thursday, that’s exactly what Drew Lock, Brett Rypien and Blake Bortles did.

Just over 48 hours later, we now know that the Broncos’ other three passers weren’t out of the woods. And now the Broncos stare down the barrel of playing against the NFC-leading New Orleans Saints without any of their quarterbacks because of the NFL’s protocols regarding close contacts with anyone who tested positive for COVID-19, as first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

The Broncos do not plan to forfeit, even though this would likely leave practice-squad wide receiver Kendall Hinton, a former Wake Forest quarterback, as a potential signal-caller thrust into a scenario that he couldn’t have envisioned when he sat down for Thanksgiving dinner.

But the Broncos shouldn’t be faced with having to consider such audacious options.

The NFL must step in and postpone the game.

And not to midweek, either. The NFL’s higher-ups need to swallow their pride and accept that their 2020 season will not include a wholly unnecessary bye week before Super Bowl LV — and could include a postseason that is delayed while teams reshuffle into bubbles.

The NFL must begin the process of shifting games to a Week 18 at the end of the regular season, starting with Broncos-Saints and the twice-postponed duel between the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers, which is still scheduled for Dec. 1 but appears in jeopardy as COVID-19 positive tests crush those longtime NFC North rivals.

The NFL has shuffled its schedule, rearranged bye weeks and gone without games in prime-time Thursday night slots all for the sake of preserving a 17-week schedule that ends on-time.

It postponed the Broncos’ Week 5 game against the New England Patriots by one week, even though the Patriots didn’t face losing an entire position group as the Broncos now do.

For the Broncos and Saints to play Sunday would be farcical. For a league that prides itself on the quality of its product and competitive balance, having a team take the field without a quarterback would leave the Broncos hamstrung at the most important position in a way no team has ever faced.

Denver can’t even sign a quarterback off the street to play on an emergency basis. The league’s COVID-19 protocols forbid it, requiring multiple negative tests before a player from outside can join the team.

Don’t let a game become a joke, NFL.

Think about fairness. Think about doing the right thing.

Postpone Broncos-Saints until January.