Cardinals notebook: Coach Kliff Kingsbury said the plan is to go back to QB Colt McCoy
Trace McSorley’s first NFL start Sunday night against the Buccaneers might have been his last start for the Cardinals this season.
On Monday, a day after his team’s 19-16 overtime loss to Tom Brady and Tampa Bay, coach Kliff Kingsbury said the plan is for veteran backup quarterback Colt McCoy to return to the starting lineup this Sunday at the Falcons and also the season finale at the 49ers a week after that.
McCoy suffered a concussion during last week’s loss in Denver to the Broncos and was placed into concussion protocol. He was cleared to return to practice on a limited basis on Friday and there appears to be a good chance he will be a full go in practice on Wednesday.
“Hopefully, he can get out of protocol completely and progress to the point that he starts,” Kingsbury said, adding, “He obviously brings a calmness, and he has a great feel for what we’re trying to do. His leadership of getting people in the right spot, getting the right calls, checking into the right plays, that’s a comfort level that we all have when he’s out there. I’d love to get him some confidence and play really well a couple more times heading into the offseason.”
With franchise quarterback Kyler Murray set to undergo major knee surgery in the coming days to repair a torn ACL, there’s a good chance he won’t be ready for the start of next season. McCoy is under contract for one more year and the Cardinals would prefer he gets more opportunities to run the offense during the final two weeks of the season.
“We want to win the game and whoever can give us the best chance at that point we want to play,” Kingsbury said during his weekly radio appearance Monday on Arizona Sports 98.7-FM. “With Colt, because of our situation early next year, who knows what that’s going to look like with Kyler’s recovery and his rehab going on? It’s an injury that varies I think on who comes back when. He (McCoy) may be the starter going into the year, so we’d love to build some more confidence with him and get him feeling more comfortable going into the offseason.”
Meanwhile, NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport is reporting that Cardinals Pro Bowl safety Budda Baker has a fractured shoulder and will miss the last two games of the season. Baker has missed only one game since 2019 and earlier this season played through a painful high ankle sprain.
It isn’t clear exactly when Baker injured his shoulder against the Buccaneers, but he managed to somehow play through the pain as well. Backups Chris Banjo and Charles Washington will be asked to step into larger roles alongside the team’s other starting safety, Jalen Thompson.
In other news, the Cardinals announced Monday they have placed long snapper Aaron Brewer on season-ending injured reserve and were awarded their waiver claim on cornerback Josh Jackson from the Steelers. Brewer suffered a pectoral injury during Sunday’s loss to the Buccaneers and was in obvious pain later in the locker room.
Jackson, 26, is back with the Cardinals after spending the preseason with the team. He played in four games with Pittsburgh and had six tackles and a fumble recovery. He’s appeared in 48 games in his career after entering the league with the Packers in 2018 as a second-round pick out of Iowa.
Cornerback Marco Wilson, who had two interceptions against Brady, wound up leaving the game after symptom from his stinger injury returned. Kingsbury said Wilson is considered day to day but added, “I hope it progresses this week and he can play.”
The news wasn’t as good for defensive lineman Tristan Hill, who suffered a sprained knee and perhaps a bone contusion, according to Kingsbury. Hill likely won’t play Sunday in Atlanta, he added. The prognosis is the same for veteran center Rodney Hudson, who has been limited to just four games with a knee issue.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Cardinals notes
