Raiders could possibly ‘rearrange’ QB meetings to prevent dire circumstance faced by Broncos

The Raiders had a rough weekend, losing to the Falcons 43-6 on Sunday. There’s no doubt about that. But Las Vegas isn’t the only team in the AFC West that’s reeling from a memorable blowout loss.

Due to the pandemic and the NFL’s COVID-19 protocols, the Broncos were without any of their regular QBs on Sunday and lost to the Saints, 31-3. Wide receiver Kendall Hinton filled in for the four signal-callers on Denver’s roster that were exposed to coronavirus. He completed one pass and had two interceptions in defeat.

Coach Jon Gruden knows what it’s like to have players miss time due to COVID-19, but he acknowledged that playing without a bona fide QB is a vastly different situation.

“It’s tough. We’ve had our offensive line miss the whole week and show up to play. We’ve had most of our defense miss the whole week. They were able to show up and play,” Gruden told reporters on Monday. “But to have your men not be able to participate at [QB], all of them, that’s a tough pill to swallow. But we’re doing a great job I think, enforcing all the protocols that are in place. Obviously with what happened yesterday, Mike Mayock and I are discussing the possibility of rearranging how we meet as a quarterback group.

“It’s hard right now because this is the ultimate team game and you do like to have some face to face conversations with your players and coaches. But right now we’ve got to rethink things, given what happened yesterday. Maybe we should think outside the box.”

Gruden mentioned the idea of isolating one of his backup QBs near the start of the season, but while it wasn’t all laughs, it was considered more of a joke than a real possibility at that point. The change in perspective speaks to the growing spread of the virus in the U.S., with reported cases and hospitalizations rising nationally.

Now, with just five games left to play in a season like none other, Gruden and general manager Mike Mayock are seriously considering measures to prevent potential virus spread in the QB room. It’s no surprise, given they’ve seen the worst-case scenario play out in Denver. For the sake of the NFL, it’s best that a wide receiver never play QB again, especially for a team trying to reach the playoffs such as the Raiders.

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