Broncos’ Jerry Rosburg’s changes include Justin Outten calling plays, Montrell Washington inactive

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Among the changes interim head coach Jerry Rosburg made in the past week was naming a new play-caller.

Offensive coordinator Justin Outten took that duty for the first time in an NFL game Sunday and worked from the coaches’ box. Quarterbacks coach Klint Kubiak had been the team’s play-caller the past six weeks after former head coach Nathaniel Hackett gave up the duty after the Broncos’ Week 10 loss to Tennessee.

“I made the decision to move Justin into the box because I wanted Klint on the sideline with Russell Wilson,” Rosburg said after the game. “That’s a relationship, the quarterbacks’ coach and quarterback, it’s different. It’s not that anything else is bad, it’s just different. They see the game differently.”

Outten’s first game at the controls finished with 24 points and 307 total yards of offense. The team struggled on third down, as it has all year, converting just three of its 12 chances, but ran the ball effectively (4.9 yards per carry).

Outten started the season in the box, moved to the sideline when Kubiak took over calling plays and then was back in the box Sunday.

“I didn’t want the plays called from the sideline and I had so much confidence in Justin to put him up in the box and call the plays,” Rosburg said, complementing the way Outten and Kubiak prepared together during the week after he made the change. “They’re just trying to win a football game and that’s what those two men did and I have the utmost respect for how they handled it this week.”

Washington inactive: In a surprise move, Denver made rookie return man and wide receiver Montrell Washington inactive for the first time this season.

Rosburg, a longtime special teams coordinator in Baltimore, made it clear during the practice week that the Broncos would be altering their special teams approach after he fired coordinator Dwayne Stukes.

That included benching the rookie from Samford, who general manager George Paton drafted in the fifth round primarily to breathe life into the Broncos’ return game. Washington showed explosiveness at times during the season, but also struggled to catch the ball consistently and has been charged with five fumbles. He only lost one, but it came in overtime in Week 6 against the Los Angeles Chargers and set up a game-deciding field goal.

Washington has 32 punt returns averaging 8.5 yards and Denver is last in the NFL in kick return average (17.4 yards).

In Washington’s place, Marlon Mack got the first kick return Sunday but injured his hamstring on a short return. Receiver Kendall Hinton took over kick returns and also was the team’s primary punt return man. He had three punt returns for 37 yards.

Inactives: Denver played without a pair of defensive regulars Sunday when outside linebacker Baron Browning (back) and defensive lineman D.J. Jones (knee) were both inactive. Both practiced in limited fashion late last week. A day earlier, the Broncos put outside linebacker Randy Gregory on injured reserve.

The rest of Denver’s inactives: Washington, offensive lineman Calvin Andreson (ankle), wide receiver Freddie Swain, newly acquired running back Tyler Badie and quarterback Jarrett Guarantano.

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