Following the circumstances in Denver this past week that saw the Broncos play the New Orleans Saints without any of their quarterbacks able to play due to COVID-19 procedures, teams across the NFL are adjusting to make sure they aren’t caught in a similar circumstance moving forward.
Count the Seattle Seahawks among the teams that are now separating their quarterbacks so they aren’t left in a bind on game day.
Head coach Pete Carroll said on Wednesday that they are keeping practice squad quarterback Danny Etling separated from Russell Wilson and backup quarterback Geno Smith so a similar close contact situation wouldn’t leave them without a quarterback to play.
“We have been in the conversation of this for a long time and we actually kicked into a new gear just by the -- I hate to say we had to wait to see something bad happen -- but we have stepped forward in terms of taking care of Danny,” Carroll said. “So to make sure that he is apart from the other QB’s so if we had, heaven forbid, some kind of a circumstance, he would not be considered connected to those guys. So in essence he is separated from the QB’s for now. And he has done a fantastic job to this point where we trust that he can go to all the meetings, all the, virtually, stay with us, he’ll work out and all that kind of stuff, apart from those guys and we’ll keep him available. So that is our guy. “
Wilson has yet to miss a start in his nine seasons in the NFL and the Seahawks remain the only team in the league without a positive COVID-19 issue this season. Practice squad John Ursua briefly landed on the reserve list in training camp from a test that was ultimately determined to be a false positive.
Carroll said if they had been forced into a similar circumstance their emergency options would include tight end Jacob Hollister, who was a high school quarterback that didn’t change positions until junior college.
“We have got a couple guys that can do different things,” Carroll said. “You would be surprised at the versatility of some of our guys. Jacob Hollister has quarterback background, DeeJay (Dallas) has quarterback background and we have some surprises as well. Bthose are the guys that would jump in for us if we needed it.”