Cardinals plan to be cautious with QB Colt McCoy, who might not play against this season

Colt McCoy was feeling better on Monday, but after getting his bell rung during Sunday’s 25-14 loss at the Broncos, he blacked out and lost consciousness upon getting up on one knee. The next second, he fell backwards and was out.

“From what I’ve heard, yes,” coach Kliff Kingsbury said Monday during his weekly radio appearance on Arizona Sports 98.7-FM when asked if McCoy blacked out. “Haven’t gotten the exact diagnosis, but apparently, that did happen.

“He’s feeling better today. He definitely was improved today.”

A week after losing quarterback Kyler Murray to a season-ending torn ACL, McCoy has been placed in the NFL's concussion protocol and will be evaluated and tested daily. It’s doubtful he will play Sunday night when the Cardinals (4-10) host Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-8) at State Farm Stadium.

Kingsbury, speaking to reporters at the team’s Tempe training facility, called McCoy “day to day” but stressed, “We’ll obviously be smart with it.”

And by smart, he seemed to imply the Cardinals will do the same thing the Broncos did with quarterback Russell Wilson, who was dealing with a concussion himself last week. He was cleared in time for Sunday’s game against Arizona but was inactive. The same thing could easily happen with McCoy — and that could very well including keeping him for the Cardinals’ final two games at the Falcons and 49ers as well.

“Yeah, I think we’d err on the side of caution, no question,” Kingsbury said.

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In that scenario, third-stringer Trace McSorley would make his first NFL start on Christmas night, and the recently signed David Blough, who entered the league in 2019 as an undrafted rookie free agent out of Purdue, would be the backup.

Both players, however, will gets practice reps this week, according to Kingsbury.

“Yeah, I think we’ll have both guys get some work this week, there’s no doubt,” he said. “It’s only fair to David to at least get some live-type reps during the week in our system since he just got here. But Trace, I see as starting the game and hopefully he can play at a high level.”

McSorley, who completed 7 of 15 passes for 95 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions, needs to protect the football more than anything, Kingsbury said, and just make smart decisions.

“Avoid the negative plays,” Kingsbury said. “If he can get some reps throughout the week if he ends up being the starter, I think it will help. We’ve just got to stay away from the turnovers and first- and second-down sacks. If we can stay on schedule, particularly against this Tampa front, it will help our chances.”

Asked what he likes about Blough, Kingsbury said, “He’s a really smart kid.”

“I remember him coming out when I was at Texas Tech. He was really sharp and had a good career there at Purdue and played well the couple times he got to start in Detroit. He’s been good in the room. Really, really sharp.”

The Cardinals have been devastated by injuries all season, particularly on offense. The offensive line has seen 10 different starting combinations already and on Sunday, the only player to have started all 14 games, right tackle Kelvin Beachum, left the game with a knee injury.

He would later return, but his availability for this week’s game is uncertain.

“I don’t know if he’ll make it back for Sunday,” Kingsbury said, “but I know he’s going to try.”

Defensive end Zach Allen (hand), cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. (back) and guard Max Garcia (shoulder) are probably doubtful to play at this point, Kingsbury added, although the prognosis looks better for corners Marco Wilson (neck) and Antonio Hamilton (back).

It always seems to be something, though.

“Yeah, each week it seems to be another challenge,” Kingsbury said. “I think it’s just game-planning, ‘Hey what can we do to maximize these people?’ Trying to figure it out is tough sometimes in that short of span, who to put where and how can we run plays or coverages that kind of maximize who they are and what they know even for guys we picked up later in the season.”

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As for all the changes up front on the offensive line, Kingsbury said he’s been proud of the effort his players continue to give.

“Yeah, you just want to figure out what they do best and what you can kind of hang your hat on in crucial situations and when it’s changing each and every week, that’s not easy,” he said. “But I’ve been proud of those guys’ effort. It’s just at times a missed block here, a missed call there and we haven’t been able to sustain drives like we need to win those games like yesterday.”

As turbulent as this season continues to become, it almost feels as if much of the luster has come off this week’s matchup for Kingsbury, who gets to face his longtime friend and former teammate on the Patriots, the 45-year-old Brady.

Not so, says Kingsbury.

“No. He’s still the greatest player of all time,” he said of Brady. “I’ve known him now 20 years, got drafted there in ’03, and so to go out and compete against him and actually be on the same field with him is going to be an honor. I’m excited to see him.”

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Cardinals look to be conservative with McCoy's health rest of season