Kansas City Chiefs backup quarterback Brady Quinn will likely start Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Coach Romeo Crennel announced Wednesday that Matt Cassel hasn’t been cleared to practice after suffering a concussion Sunday. Quinn will take the snaps in practice as if he were starting.
Quinn went 3-for-3 after replacing Cassel, but couldn’t lead Kansas City to a comeback win over Baltimore.
Crennel quickly dismissed a question about whether he would’ve considered a quarterback change regardless of injury.
“That’s one of those hypotheticals, and you know how I answer hypothetical questions. I don’t answer them. I’m not talking about what-ifs and whenevers and all that. Quinn has to get ready to play, so he’s going to take reps today. [Ricky] Stanzi is getting ready to play, so we’ll go from there at the quarterback position. Matt, I think he’s getting better, but you know the league is very serious and cautious about concussions and about how they’re handled, so we have to follow the procedure on that as we go forward.”
Thousands of Chiefs fans drew the ire of players Sunday when they cheered Cassel’s exit with a concussion. Crennel discussed that further.
“Historically, the Chiefs fans are some of the best fans in the NFL. Anytime a player gets injured it’s unfortunate,” Crennel said. “I think the majority of the Kansas Chiefs fans felt bad about Matt (Cassel) was injured. There were some that expressed an opinion, a frustration that I have, that everybody else has about this season.
“They expressed it not in the way you would want it expressed. But you can’t paint that broad brush of 70,000 people because that wasn’t the case. I don’t know how many did what they did. My concern is for my players and their health. … I think that majority of Chiefs fans are not going to cheer a player getting hurt.”