Kendall Hinton (born February 19, 1997) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

. He played

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for the

Wake Forest Demon Deacons The Wake Forest Demon Deacons are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Wake Forest University, located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. They compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Assoc ...

as a

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

and wide receiver and signed with the Broncos as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 2020. That season, he made an appearance as an emergency quarterback following the rest of the team's quarterbacks being placed in

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

quarantine for a week. In doing so, Hinton became the first non-professional quarterback to play significant snaps at the position in an NFL game since running back

Tom Matte Thomas Roland Matte (Pronounced: MAT-tee) (June 14, 1939November 2, 2021) was an American professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) in the 1960s and 1970s and earned a Super Bowl ring. He attende ...

with the

Baltimore Colts in 1965 Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

Early life

Hinton played

at Southern Durham High School in

Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...

. As a high school junior, Hinton threw for 3,972 yards and 39

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

en route to a 3–AA championship title.

College career

Rated a three-star prospect by

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and

Rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...

, Hinton committed to play

for the

on June 11, 2014. As a true freshman in 2015, Hinton played in nine games and started in two of them. In the nine games, he threw for 929 yards and four touchdowns, while rushing for 390 yards and seven touchdowns. Against

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on September 19, Hinton replaced injured starting quarterback John Wolford in the first quarter of the game, and led the Demon Deacons to a 24–21 win by passing for 159 yards and two touchdowns. The next week against

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, Hinton made his first career start in place of Wolford, and had 245 yards passing along with 57 yards rushing and two touchdowns in the 31–24 loss. Hinton's 245 passing yards set a Wake Forest school record for most passing yards by a player in his first career start. He started again the following week against

Florida State Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

on October 3, throwing for 215 yards in a loss. As a sophomore, Hinton suffered a sprained ankle in the Demon Deacons Week 3 game against

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

. Initially expected to only miss 2–4 weeks, Hinton did not play for the remainder of the season and was granted a medical

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. As a redshirt sophomore, Hinton served as the primary backup quarterback to John Wolford in 2017, starting one game against Clemson in place of an injured Wolford. Hinton completed 14 of 30 passes for 203 yards and 2 touchdowns in the 28–14 loss. As a junior he was projected to be the starting quarterback entering the season, Hinton was suspended for the first three games of the season for violating team rules. Following his return from suspension, Hinton was named the backup quarterback to true freshman

Sam Hartman Samuel Hartman (born July 29, 1999) is an American professional football quarterback for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played five seasons of college football for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, setting sever ...

. Despite entering the transfer portal at the end of his redshirt junior year, Hinton opted to return to Wake Forest for his redshirt senior season. In his redshirt senior season, Hinton transitioned to playing slot receiver full-time, racking up 73 receptions for 1,001 yards and four touchdowns.

Professional career

Hinton signed with the

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as an undrafted free agent on April 26, 2020. He was waived on September 5, but re-signed with their

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on November 4. In Week 12, all four Broncos quarterbacks were ruled ineligible to play against the

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due to

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protocols, so Hinton was elevated to the active roster as an emergency quarterback option for the team, as his time as a quarterback at Wake Forest made him the only player on the Broncos’ roster who had experience at the position. He subsequently completed only a single 13-yard pass to

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

Noah Fant out of nine attempts, while also recording two

interceptions In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team bu ...

as the Broncos lost 31–3. Hinton reverted to the practice squad following the game, and signed a reserve/futures contract with the team on January 4, 2021. On August 31, 2021, Hinton was waived by the Broncos and re-signed to the practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on September 14. Against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

, Hinton caught his first career touchdown pass in the 27–19 loss. On August 30, 2022, Hinton was waived by the Broncos and signed to the practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on September 17 for the Broncos' Week 2 game against the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

, in which he caught one pass for 20 yards en route to a 16–9 win. On September 19, he reverted back to the practice squad. On September 24, he was once again elevated to the active roster for the Broncos' Week 3 game against the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

, in which he recorded one reception for 27 yards in an 11–10 win. He was signed to the active roster on October 10. On July 28, 2023, Hinton was activated from the physically unable to perform list. He was waived by the Broncos August 23.

NFL career statistics

References

External links

Wake Forest Demon Deacons bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hinton, Kendall 1997 births Living people American football quarterbacks American football wide receivers Denver Broncos players Players of American football from Durham, North Carolina Wake Forest Demon Deacons football players