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Jerry Jones chides Broncos over COVID-inflicted QB woes, says Cowboys had it just as bad

On Sunday, the Denver Broncos started a practice squad wide receiver at quarterback against the New Orleans Saints.

It went as expected.

Kendall Hinton — who had never practiced as an NFL quarterback, much less thrown an NFL pass — completed one of nine attempts for 13 yards with two interceptions in a 31-3 loss.

Jerry Jones likens Broncos’ QB woes to Cowboys’

Jerry Jones, whose Dallas Cowboys have had their own set of quarterback woes this season, talked about the bizarre circumstance in Denver brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. He does not sympathize. In fact, he believes his Cowboys have had it just as bad.

“I don't know that Denver had any more of a challenge than we've had with DiNucci or with the young quarterbacks that we've had,” Jones told 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday.

“DiNucci” in this instance is Ben DiNucci, the Cowboys’ rookie quarterback who started and struggled in a 23-9 Week 8 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. DiNucci was filling in for starter Dak Prescott and backup Andy Dalton, who were both sidelined with injuries. He had one of the worst quarterback performances in the NFL this season and has not played since.

The difference here, of course, is that DiNucci is an NFL quarterback. He may not be a very good one, but the Cowboys selected him in the seventh round of the 2020 draft out of James Madison to play quarterback.

Hinton is not a quarterback. He was at one point in college at Wake Forest. By the time he finished his Demon Deacons career, he had made the switch to wide receiver. He wasn’t good enough at quarterback to keep his job in the ACC. He’s certainly not an NFL quarterback.

Jerry Jones, whose Cowboys lead the NFL in attendance amid a pandemic, doled out COVID-19 advice to the Broncos. (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Jerry Jones, whose Cowboys lead the NFL in attendance amid a pandemic, doled out COVID-19 advice to the Broncos. (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Jones doles out COVID-19 advice to Broncos

Jones also didn’t sympathize with how the Broncos got to the point of starting Hinton on Sunday. Denver has four quarterbacks on their roster. All of them — Drew Lock, Brett Rypien, Jeff Driskel and Blake Bortles — were ruled ineligible for Sunday’s game after contract tracing revealed potential COVID-19 exposure.

Driskel had been placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list, and the rest of the quarterbacks had been in the same room with him while not wearing masks, a clear violation of NFL safety protocol.

Jones regularly flaunts basic COVID-19 safety measures by packing fans into AT&T Stadium (and bragging about it) as the pandemic surges to new peaks in Texas and throughout the United States.

He had some COVID advice for the Broncos quarterback room on Tuesday.

“You take risks when you put all the quarterbacks in the same room, Jones said. “If you’re worried about those things, you can spread them out a little bit. You can save one. ...

“Boy, we have been schooled in the NFL — these teams have been schooled. You had really better pay attention to your protocols. You better manage. Don't just give it lip service, just roll your eyes back and say, ‘That happens to them. That doesn't happen to me.’”

The Cowboys lead the NFL in attendance this season with 26,466 fans per home game, according to Pro Football Reference. Their Thanksgiving game against Washington saw 30,048 fans in attendance as health officials urged Americans to remain home for the holiday to thwart the spread of COVID-19.

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