The Broncos Are So Desperate They Asked The NFL If An Assistant Coach Could Play Quarterback Today
(PFT) - Mike Klis of 9 News in Denver reports that the Broncos asked if they could have one of their offensive quality control coaches, Justin Rascati or Rob Calabrese, play quarterback today. But the league would not allow it.
Rascati quarterbacked James Madison to the FCS national championship in 2004. Calabrese was a part-time quarterback at UCF from 2008 to 2012 and threw for 1,276 yards in his college career.
Obligatory "the NFL hates fun" blah, blah, blah. The NFL had to say no to this, there was no way around it. Otherwise you would see Bill Belichick go into this offseason and hire all the top free agents to be coaches, completely circumventing the salary cap and ultimately losing 12 first round picks as punishment in the process.
What I want to know here is what other ideas have crossed the Broncos' minds since they found out they would be sans quarterback for today's tilt against the Saints. There had to be an impromptu think tank to try and cobble together a plan to bring to the League and hope for approval. Who had to put their team issued visor in their hands and walk into Elway's office to ask if he's got 30 throws left in that arm? Elway retired six years before Rascati was slinging peas all over the field for James Madison, I'd argue it would be less ridiculous to #7 out there one last time. Sure, one hit from Cam Jordan and Elway never walks again, but that's a risk I'm willing to take.
My pitch would have been simple. You don't ask the NFL if Rob Calabrese, no matter how fire his name is, can suit up under center. You don't ask them to cancel the game. Instead you call an audible. Like sure, we have no problem using a practice squad wide receiver at QB so long as we're playing a wildly inferior opponent. Swap us out with the Dolphins. Now you've got Fitzmagic vs. the Saints, a substantially more watchable game. And now you see if the completely defeated Jets can beat a team without a quarterback. Sweeten the pot a little and put the first overall pick on the table. If the Broncos can beat a (technically) real NFL team with no quarterback they absolutely deserve a prize for such, I don't care what their record is. And if the Jets CAN'T beat a team with no quarterback, why do they deserve Trevor Lawrence or Justin Fields or whoever the fuck they take first overall? But if they prove that they're not so inept that they can string together 60 minutes of competence then no coin flip with the Jaguars will be necessary as they would be guaranteed that top selection. That, my friends, is what we call a triple winner.