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When Tampa Bay Vipers starting quarterback Aaron Murray was declared out with a foot injury for the Week 2 matchup with the Seattle Dragons, most fans thought backup Quinton Flowers, who got extensive time in Week 1 as a passer, would be the starter for the second game in team history.
But it appears we’ve got a Lee Corso situation here: not so fast, my friend. It looks like former Oklahoma State starter Taylor Cornelius will be under center for the first snap Sunday at 5 p.m.
The Tampa Bay Times reported the quarterbacks are expected to “split playing time”, and noted that both Cornelius and Flowers shared reps throughout the week of practice.
The #Vipers' quarterback conundrum is compounded by injury to starter Aaron Murray. #TampaBay also wants to get the most of Quinton Flowers' skill set, & that likely doesn't include him playing QB exclusively.@TB_Times story: https://t.co/2hdtVVm7Tw#TBVipers #XFL #XFLVipers
— Eduardo A. Encina (@EddieInTheYard) February 12, 2020
Bettors expecting Quinton Flowers to start for Tampa Bay are going to be disappointed when they see Taylor Cornelius under centre starting for the Vipers tomorrow...until Cornelius leads Tampa Bay to a victory. https://t.co/NWGoKkvKxl
— Adam Chernoff (@adamchernoff) February 15, 2020
Bettors seem to be fading the decision by head coach Marc Trestman, which is likely to be pretty unpopular with Tampa Bay fans as well. The Vipers had been a 2.5 point favorite most of the week, and that had gotten as high as -3, but it’s down to 1.5 already. With the unusual scoring system of the XFL involving conversions being worth between 1-3 points, key numbers mean less and the actual movement is more reflective of the wagering community.
Flowers does likely takes some snaps for the Snakes this week, and being used as a Kordell Stewart-slash-type player does fit his skillset. But Cornelius will need to show results to keep the hometown fans from giving up on the new team before they’ve even played a home game.
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