I was inspired to write this column by something I saw concerning the Denver Broncos other quarterback, Brady Quinn.

A former first-round draft choice, these days Quinn is relegated to being a clipboard holder (CBH) for John Fox’s team.

I believe the CBHs are generally the third-string quarterbacks, which I believe Quinn is.

For the purposes of this column, we’ll reference second and third- string signal callers.

Aaron Rodgers was a CBH for a couple of years with the world champion Green Bay Packers.

Drafted in the first round in 2005, he sat behind Brett Favre for four tedious years before he took the helm.

Now that Rodgers is the best in the game, the clipboard has been passed to Matt Flynn.

Former North Carolina quarterback T.J. Yates was destined to be the CBH with the Texans before both starter Matt Schaub and back-up Matt Leinart were injured.

T.J. had been playing spectacularly.

A guy who had made a career of toting the clipboard is Billy Volek – first with Tennessee and then San Diego.

Volek makes millions a year to stroll the sidelines charting teammates such as the late Steve McNair and Philip Rivers.

If Matt Ryan ever goes down they’ll have to pry the clipboard from the fingers of Chris Redman – one of those guys who could be called a professional CBH.

Redman’s claim to fame was being taken three rounds before Tom Brady in the 2000 NFL draft.

It’s possible that had Drew Bledsoe not been knocked out by Jets linebacker Mo Lewis in 2001, Brady would have tended the clipboard for the Patriots for quite a while.

When this season started, there was only one Patriots’ record Brady didn’t hold that Bledsoe did: most passing yards in one game.

Brady broke the record in the first game of the season throwing for 517.

Tony Romo’s career with the Cowboys began in 2003.

He surely held the clipboard behind Quincy Carter and Chad Hutchinson – Chad Who? – before he became the full-time starter in 2006.

Think anybody on the Panthers has the temerity to hand a clipboard to Cam Newton? That’s never gonna happen.

That chore right now is Jimmy Clausen’s.

And guess who could have been the game’s most polarizing CBH of all time?

That’s right, Denver’s Tim Tebow.

As No.15 would say, “Merry Christmas and God bless.”

Grillo