ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Quarterback Russell Wilson has passed the NFL's concussion protocol, but he will not play against the Arizona Cardinals.
"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," 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."
Brett Rypien will start in Wilson's absence, and Wilson will not be active for the game. The Broncos could elevate quarterback Jarrett Guarantano from their practice squad for their Week 15 game against Arizona.
"We're very confident in 'Ryp,'" Hackett said. "We're very excited about 'Ryp' and this opportunity to go against the Arizona Cardinals."
Hackett said Wilson looked good at practice and was able to attend meetings, but the organization decided to rule him out of Sunday's game.
"Player safety is so important to us," Hackett said, "and we just want to do what's right for him in this situation."
Wilson said he felt "great all week," and he expected to be ready to play on Sunday against the Cardinals.
"I was planning to be ready to rock and roll and play for us," Wilson said Friday.
Wilson said he "always [wants] to be out on the field," but he also expressed confidence in Rypien and said he would help the fourth-year quarterback on Sunday.
"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."
The Broncos will be without wide receivers Kendall Hinton and Courtland Sutton on Sunday, as the two players were ruled out with hamstring injuries.
Defensive end Dre'Mont Jones (hip), defensive tackle D.J. Jones (shoulder/illness), linebacker Dakota Allen (hamstring), fullback/tight end Andrew Beck (hamstring) and guard Dalton Risner (shoulder/back) are questionable for the game.
Dre'Mont Jones did not practice this week, while D.J. Jones missed practice on Friday for the first time with an illness. Allen, Beck and Risner were limited this week in practice.
