The Denver Broncos are in the middle of a quarterback crisis, and Mark Sanchez isn’t helping. The projected starting quarterback tore ligaments in his non-throwing hand last Thursday while lifting weights and has already undergone surgery to repair it.

He will most likely be out for a few days, if not weeks.

Michael Pritchard, former CU Buff, joined the Afternoon Drive and explained that he suffered a similar injury before CU’s national championship game — a game he took home MVP honors.

“Well I broke my hand a week before the Orange Bowl,” Pritchard said. “It was the third metacarpal bone in my hand, and if I could deal with the pain, then I was playing in that Orange Bowl game. There was no way in hell I was gonna miss that game!”

AFTERNOON DRIVE LIVE STREAMSanchez isn’t in any danger of missing a game, but he may feel that way. While he has the inside track towards the starting gig, every additional first-team rep Paxton Lynch or Trevor Siemian gets opens the door just a bit more for him to be surpassed on the depth chart.

“It’s huge, because he’s new,” Pritchard said of Sanchez’s absence. “He’s learning the offense. Guys are going to be around there to help him out, but I don’t know if it puts him behind in timing or puts him behind practicing with the guys and just developing that rhythm and timing and those little things that you pick up only through practice.”

For the full conversation, click the link below …

Catch Afternoon Drive every weekday from 4p-6p on Mile High Sports AM 1340 or FM 104.7, or stream live any time for the best local coverage of Colorado sports from Denver’s biggest sports talk lineup.