Kendall Hinton’s QB moment marked in Canton, across the NFL
DENVER — Wide receiver Kendall Hinton’s start at quarterback for Denver may have been forgettable, but it’s memorialized in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and on practice fields across the NFL.
A half dozen teams sport a quarantined quarterback this month after the Broncos were forced to play the Saints on Nov. 29 without any of their four QBs.
The Broncos’ QB quandary began when No. 3 passer Jeff Driskel tested positive for the coronavirus on Thanksgiving Day. Two days later, the NFL disqualified starter Drew Lock, backup Brett Rypien and practice squad veteran Blake Bortles because all four had failed to wear their masks around each other earlier that week.
Hinton, who played quarterback at Wake Forest before switching to wide receiver, was activated from the practice squad and became the first nonQB to start at the position since running back Tom Matte did so for the Baltimore Colts in 1965.
Hinton completed just 1 of 9 passes for 13 yards with two interceptions in Denver’s 31-3 loss, but he earned accolades far and wide, including from Matte, who wrote Hinton a heartfelt letter.
“Fifty- five years ago, I was in your shoes,” Matte wrote. “I was the Baltimore Colts’ ‘instant quarterback’ and believe me, it was an experience I’ll never forget! Late in the 1965 season, our quarterbacks — John Unitas and Gary Cuozzo — were injured. My usual position with the Colts was halfback but, having played quarterback in college, I was technically the team’s third-string QB. So when Unitas and Cuozzo went down, my initial reaction was simply, ‘Oh, my god. Don’t tell me I have to play quarterback.’”
Matte felt a kinship with Hinton.
“As the only two ‘Instant Quarterbacks’ in NFL history, we have a strong connection, thanks to our shared experience,” Matte wrote. “I’m proud of how you stepped up for your teammates, particularly in what was an impossible situation in difficult circumstances. Decades from now, I hope you’ll look back with pride on your experience — you’ll have quite a story to tell your grandchildren!”
Hinton’s play-calling wristband was sent to the Hall of Fame this month and is on display in Canton along with Matte’s wristband from 1965.
Hinton went back to being a practice squad receiver when the Broncos’ three sequestered quarterbacks came off the COVID-19 reserve list. For a while, the team kept Bortles away from Lock and Rypien at practice as a precaution, but all four are now back at practice together.
The league’s other 31 teams all reviewed their own QB situations after the debacle in Denver, and six teams have an emergency quarterback isolated from the rest of their teammates heading into the final two weeks of the season.
They are: the Chargers ( Easton Stick); Seahawks ( Danny Etling); Titans ( DeShone Kiz