The Broncos are borrowing an idea from the presidential line of succession to protect against another QB disaster.
During State of the Union addresses or presidential inaugurations, it’s standard practice for the government to name a “designated survivor,” who will remain in a safe location in the event disaster strikes. For the 2020 State of the Union in February, for example, Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt was taken to an undisclosed, secure location for the event – just in case. In 2016, Kiefer Sutherland starred in a TV series called Designated Survivor, in which he unexpectedly became president after a bombing.
The Denver Broncos are naming a designated survivor of their own for the rest of the 2020 NFL season following a disastrous Week 12 loss to the Saints, where the Broncos were forced to play a practice squad wide receiver at quarterback on one day’s notice after every QB in the organization was ruled out due to COVID-19 regulations.
Broncos coach Vic Fangio announced on Wednesday that practice squad QB Blake Bortles will be distancing himself from the rest of the Broncos quarterbacks, in the unlikely event that all three quarterbacks on the active roster are unable to play.
Via NFL.com:
“The Broncos will start to limit Blake Bortles’ exposure to teammates moving forward, Fangio said Wednesday, and will not come to the team’s facility for their mid-week activities. Bortles will spend less time at the facility in an effort to leave the team a backup plan in the event another COVID-19-related situation renders Denver’s entire quarterback depth chart unable to participate, as it did in Week 12.”
The Broncos are stopping short of locking Bortles in a bunker for the remainder of the season – but that might be a strategy playoff-bound teams should consider for the postseason.
