The Morning Fix

The Chiefs needed another arm for practice because of Brodie Croyle’s injury, so they summoned Bill Stull, who joined them for Tuesday’s workout. Stull participated in the Chiefs’ rookie camp in the spring on a tryout basis.

The Chiefs went through Monday’s practice with only Matt Cassel and Tyler Palko at quarterback. Coach Todd Haley said the Chiefs couldn’t afford to go with two any longer.

But it also speaks to the issue of how long Croyle will be out of action. He was wearing a sleeve on his passing arm, but otherwise the injury doesn’t have the look of one that will cause long-term problems.

“I wouldn’t read too much into that one way or the other just because any practice we go through with two quarterbacks I think has a chance to end with diminishing returns,” Haley said. “Whether this is a monthlong, one-week, two-day, one-day, we had to get an arm in here. Part of that is finding someone that knows how we do things and a little bit about the terminology.

Chiefs’ day in camp on Tuesday-KCStar.com

With Croyle sitting out all or parts of practice for a second consecutive day, the Chiefs needed another quarterback to, at the very least, help them get through their training camp sessions without overtaxing starter Matt Cassell and another backup, Tyler Palko.

Depending on the severity of Croyle’s injury and how Stull performs in practice or in upcoming exhibitions, the Chiefs could opt to keep him around for an extended period.

“The length of time is not a factor right now,” coach Todd Haley said during a news conference, part of which was posted by the Kansas City Star on its website. “Because any practice we have that we just have two quarterbacks out there, obviously I feel that we’ll have diminishing returns on the guys that are having to do that.

“And we would have had to severely adjust practice, so whether this is a month-long, one week, two days, one day, we had to get an arm in here. And part of that is finding somebody that knows how we do things and a little bit about the terminology. And [Stull] was a guy through that rookie camp that we were pretty encouraged about.”

Hampered By Injury at Quarterback, Chiefs Add Bill Stull-NFL.fanhouse.com

Pioli also pointed out that Cassel didn’t have as strong a supporting cast in his first season with the Chiefs as he did in 2008 with the Patriots, after he replaced injured starter Tom Brady and became one of the most-coveted available quarterbacks in the league the following offseason. In New England, Cassel was throwing to Randy Moss and Wes Welker. In Kansas City, he had nobody close to that talent level.

“We saw some progress with Matt over the course of (last) season,” said Pioli, who oversaw the Patriots’ player-personnel before becoming the Chiefs’ GM last year. “He had faced some adversity, on different levels, that he hadn’t had to face before. Even though he moved into that spot when Tommy got hurt a couple of years ago, he had some players around him where it made the transition possibly a little bit easier.”

The Chiefs are hoping that Cassel’s game will be helped by the fact that wide receiver Chris Chambers, who joined the team halfway through last season, will be available from the start of the year. They’re also hoping Cassel will benefit from new offensive coordinator Charlie Weis, who did plenty to help Brady go from sixth-round draft pick to mega-star when Weis ran the offense in New England.

Weis and Chiefs coach Todd Haley have worked together previously and share similar offensive philosophies and terminology. Before Weis met Cassel, the coach studied videotape of every snap the quarterback had taken in the NFL. Entering the offseason, Weis’ primary focus was working on Cassel’s footwork.

Cassel heads crop of QBs who must perform this season-NFL.com

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Tags: kansas city chiefs