Weighing impact of changes
The NFL’S ownership group approved a rule change regarding quarterbacks and a resolution approving the flexing of games into and out of Thursday night during Monday’s meetings in Minneapolis.
Let’s look at both and how they could impact the Broncos in 2023.
Extra quarterback
The rule change gives teams the ability to activate an emergency third quarterback without counting against its gameday active list of 46 players, but that extra quarterback can only enter the game if the two other quarterbacks are hurt or otherwise unable to play.
From the league’s Competition Committee:
Effect: Permits each club to designate an emergency quarterback who can be activated from its Inactive List if the two quarterbacks on the club’s Active List are injured or disqualified and unable to participate in the game.
Reason: Integrity of game.
The interesting part about this rule is the third quarterback has to be on the 53-man roster in order to be designated as the emergency player. Carrying three quarterbacks on the 53 is hardly a league-wide practice. When the 2022 season opened, only 12 of 32 teams had three signal-callers on their initial rosters.
Of course, roster needs change, but when Russell Wilson injured his hamstring in Week 6 last year, the Broncos promoted Josh Johnson from the practice squad for Week 7 to serve as Brett Rypien’s back-up rather than adding him to the 53-man roster. That strategy preserves a spot on the 53, but it has its limitations because each player can only be promoted from the practice squad three times in a season.
The question, then, is whether more teams view keeping a third quarterback as a better bet now that he doesn’t count against a gameday 46 even though he does count against the 53.
In Denver, the rule change could have an impact on either Ben Dinucci or Jarrett Guarantano, who as of now look to be battling to be third in line for coach Sean Payton behind Russell Wilson and Jarrett Stidham. In the years that Payton had Drew Brees in New Orleans, he tended to keep only two QBS on the 53-man roster.
Flex scheduling
According to reports, Thursday night flex scheduling passed 24- 8 after some haggling between March and this week.
Here’s some of the language from the resolution:
Resolved, that f lexible scheduling is hereby expanded to Thursdays such that clubs may be required to switch Sunday afternoon regular season games, in Weeks 13-17, to approximately 8:15 p.m. ET on Thursday (and vice- versa) upon at least twenty- eight (28) days’ notice from the League Office; and Be it
Further Resolved, that the League’s late season “TBD” scheduling mechanism is hereby expanded to allow the League Office to designate games originally identified as “TBD” games to be played at approximately 8:15 p.m. ET on Thursday (in addition to Saturday, Sunday or Monday) in place of the originally scheduled Thursday night game (which shall be played on Sunday)…
The resolution also says that no more than two games can get f lexed to Thursday night, no team can get flexed to Thursday night more than once and no team can play on Thursday night more than twice overall. This is, according to the resolution, “a one-season trial of modified scheduling policies for flexible scheduling in connection with the Thursday Night Football package.”
New York Giants CEO John Mara in March called the idea of flexing games to/from Thursday on two weeks notice, as proposed then, “abusive.” But the power of Amazon and an agreement to lengthen the notice interval from two weeks to 28 days means it’s happening anyway.
The Broncos have one Thursday night game already on the books: Oct. 12 at Kansas City.
The NFL’S current Thursday Night Football schedule for Weeks 13-17 goes:
Week 13: Seattle at Dallas Week 14: New England at Pittsburgh
Week 15: Los Angeles Chargers at Las Vegas
Week 16: New Orleans at Los Angeles Rams
Week 17: New York Jets at Cleveland
Denver’s Week 13- 17 schedule, meanwhile, starts with a three-game road trip — at Houston (Sunday), at the Chargers (Sunday), at Detroit ( TBD) — and then New England and the Chargers at home. The Week 16 game against the Patriots is already slated for primetime (6:15 p.m on Christmas Eve), so that cannot be flexed.
Week 17’s home game against the Chargers is the only game at Empower Field that the NFL could flex to Thursday, then. It might be enticing if at four weeks out the game looks likely to have playoff implications, but that move would require putting the Chargers on Thursday two times in four weeks. Technically allowable, but seemingly unlikely.
Bottom line: Odds are low a Broncos home game will be impacted.