Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride missed Sunday’s game against the Washington Commanders due to a concussion, but head coach Jonathan Gannon suggested Monday that his health is turning a corner ahead of this week’s trip to San Francisco.
“He did a good job last week,” Gannon said. “Wasn't able to play and we thought that was kind of the smart thing to do, obviously, with how the protocol works. But it's looking good.”
McBride did not practice last week, but he was around the team in the locker room and appeared positive in his interactions with teammates. He was involved in some individual work on the side throughout the week.
In McBride’s absence, Elijah Higgins ran a route on 23 of 29 dropbacks, but earned just three targets. He finished with two catches for 12 yards.
The Cardinals were also without defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga this week. Gannon did not provide much of an update on him, saying, “We’ll see how the next couple days go.”
They also have three rookies who are eligible to return from injured reserve this week after missing the first four games of the season: first-round defensive lineman Darius Robinson, third-round cornerback Elijah Jones and fifth-round tackle Christian Jones.
“Got a couple days here to see if we want to open those windows,” Gannon said. “But they're all doing a good job.”
Gannon praises Marvin Harrison Jr.
On paper, Marvin Harrison Jr.’s performance Sunday was disappointing. Facing an exploitable Washington secondary , he finished with five catches for 45 yards and a touchdown on six targets.
Gannon, though, offered a different perspective.
“We've gotta try to continue to try to get him the ball,” Gannon said. “But Marv, I thought, actually played his best game.”
Here’s Gannon’s full explanation of the rookie’s performance:
“I thought he launched really well off the line of scrimmage,” Gannon said. “I thought his route depth and his execution and detail, his routes were really good, I thought he won a bunch of one-on-ones. He was open a couple times and the ball didn't find him. But I thought he was winning at a high level and making a bunch of plays.”
Gannon: Cardinals are ‘close’
On Sunday, the Cardinals’ 42-14 loss set all sorts of futility marks. It was their worst ever defeat with Kyler Murray under center and tied for their worst with any quarterback since 2018. It was just their third time allowing 42 points in the past six seasons. And it was Washington’s first time hitting that mark since 2016.
But fewer than 24 hours later, Gannon insisted that the Cardinals are “close.” Because of that belief, he said that they will not drastically change anything about their practice plan this week, instead focusing on the same types of minor details that they always do.
“You have a game like that and you think you gotta blow it all up and tear it all down and we're so far away,” Gannon said. “We're really not. We're close but not there yet with how the last game went.”
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon provides key update on Trey McBride's concussion
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