Broncos injuries: QB Russell Wilson ruled out for Week 15
Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson (concussion) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Arizona Cardinals, coach Nathaniel Hackett announced Friday.
Hackett said that Wilson passed through the league's concussion protocol, but the team wanted to be safe and rest him this weekend.
"As an organization, we've decided to give him another week to get ready so he's ready to go for the Los Angeles Rams," Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett said Friday. "Russ is one of our ultimate competitors in this game. He's unbelievable. We informed him of the decision.
"He's not happy with it; he wants to be out there and play. He's very, very competitive, as we all know, and wants to compete for this team and be out there. We as an organization, after discussing and talking throughout this entire week, have decided it's best for our organization, it's best for Russell [to hold him out]. We talked about this from the top all the way to the bottom. We looked at every single thing and just want to give him another week to get ready."
The Broncos are now set to start Brett Rypien in Wilson's place. The team's backup quarterback against the Cardinals will be Jarrett Guarantano, who just joined the practice squad last week.
Elsewhere on the injury front for Denver, wide receivers Courtland Sutton (hamstring) and Kendall Hinton (hamstring) have also been ruled out. On the defensive line, Dre'Mont Jones (hip) and D.J. Jones (illness) are questionable.
"I believe in competing and being out on the field no matter what the circumstances are," Wilson said. "I'm an old-school quarterback in that sense that you've got to be out there. I think at the same time, it was a collective decision of the organization that they wanted to let me get extra rest. I think 'Ryp' is gonna be ready to rock and roll, and ... guys had a great week of practice.
"It was good to be out there again, to practice. Every day you get to be out at practice, you enjoy it. These guys are special guys, and I just want to be out there competing with them. I'm going to do everything I can in the game, the sideline and the locker room and everything else make sure we get a win."
With Sutton and Hinton not available, the team's top remaining receivers are Jerry Jeudy, Jalen Virgil, Montrell Washington, Brandon Johnson and Freddie Swain (Tim Patrick and KJ Hamler are both on injured reserve).
Denver leads the all-time series against the Cardinals 9-1-1, and the Broncos are considered a 2.5-point favorite at home this week.
Paste BN Sports producer Jaylon Thompson contributed to this report.