Denver Broncos Cut Kendall Hinton, The WR Who Once Had To Start At QB

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With the preseason coming to a close, teams have to get their rosters down to 53 players. On Sunday, many teams started the process of making those cuts. One of the casualties for the Denver Broncos was wide receiver Kendall Hinton.

If that name sounds familiar, it should. During the 2020 NFL season when COVID caused many disruptions across the league, the Denver Broncos found themselves in a bad spot.

Thanks to a close contact with third-string quarterback Jeff Driskel, the league made all four of the team's quarterbacks ineligible for a Week 12 game against the New Orleans Saints.

The league also ruled that the team violated protocols that caused the exposure. Thus, instead of postponing the game, as they did in other circumstances, the league ruled the team needed to play the game without any quarterbacks.

That left the Broncos with little option. They had a player on their practice squad -- wide receiver Kendall Hinton -- who played both quarterback and wide receiver at Wake Forest. The great experiment began!

Could a player who played some college quarterback competently quarterback an NFL team during a regular season game?

The answer, of course, was no. In what was perhaps a great reminder of just how hard it is to play the position at the highest level, Hinton struggled MIGHTILY. Again, though, he had just a few days to learn the entire offense from a quarterback's perspective. It's not his fault.

The Saints defeated the Broncos 31-3. Hinton attempted just nine passes in the contest, and completed only one for 13 yards. He also threw two interceptions.

Thankfully, that was the only game Hinton needed to start at quarterback. The former UDFA returned to his normal position following the contest.

Kendall Hinton of the Denver Broncos drops back to pass during an NFL game against the New Orleans Saints on November 29, 2020 in Denver, Colorado.

Kendall Hinton of the Denver Broncos drops back to pass during an NFL game against the New Orleans Saints. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)

Although he didn't play another game in 2020 after returning to the practice squad, he played 16 games in 2021 and 12 (including five starts) in 2022. Hinton has 39 career catches for 486 yards and a touchdown.

The Broncos cut Hinton on Sunday, which is somewhat interesting. For a team that is badly hurting at the position, Hinton's release is at least somewhat surprising.

He's now a free agent again, and we'll see if any team adds him for some depth at the receiving position.

Safe to say no team is picking him up to play quarterback, though.

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Dan began his sports media career at ESPN, where he survived for nearly a decade. Once the Stockholm Syndrome cleared, he made his way to Outkick. He is secure enough in his masculinity to admit he is a cat-enthusiast with three cats, one of which is named “Brady” because his wife wishes she were married to Tom instead of him.