Beneath the Orange Sausage: Kendall Hinton

Beneath the Orange Sausage goes behind the curtain and tells stories about sports, history, and pop culture that you may not have heard or may have forgotten about. This time we are going to talk about one of the least likely QuarterBacks in NFL history.

In 2020, the world shut down. In the 80's they thought that AIDS or Killer Bees might be what shuts the world down. In the 90's, it was certainly going to be something caught from someone getting a rim job from a monkey or something. In the 2000's, all we were worried about was computers shutting down because they couldn't tell a year without a 19. However, it was 2020, when the Flu brought everything to a halt.

Somehow the NFL went on with no fans in the stands, masks on, and they had to be basically sterilized and quarantined to be able to do anything.

The Denver Broncos had been on a downward spiral for many years since Peyton Manning retired and had a young QB named Drew Lock who may or may not be ready to take on the mantle of QB for the Broncos. However, in week 12 of that year. The entire QB room was exposed to Covid 19 and declared ineligible. Not only that but you couldn't get just anyone off the streets to clear the protocall in time to come out and play. Somebody in house would have to play QB.

On the practice squad was a young wide receiver named Kendall Hinton. He was an undrafted 5'10" WR out of Wake Forrest. He had been signed-cut-and resigned. He had played QB at Wake Forrest before transitioning to slot WR his senior year and having a 1000 yard season. He was the only real one with any experience at the position and, with only a few days to get it together, got a crash course in being an NFL QB.

He played and when all was said and done he completed 1 pass out of nine attempts. He had seven yards rushing and the Broncos lost 31-3. However, he earned a lot of respect for getting out there in a tough situation and trying to help his team win. He was the first non-QB to take major snaps in a game since 1965.

He would play for the Broncos for another couple of years. Most practice squad players come and go. Hell most people probably can't remember how many QB's the Broncos started that season. However, they will remember the start by the one guy who only completed one pass.

-Josh Engleby