Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Tyler Bray drops back to pass during drills at training camp July 30, 2016 in St. Joseph, Mo. (Emily DeShazer/The Topeka Capital-Journal)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Tyler Bray entered training camp in a battle for the Chiefs backup quarterback role behind Alex Smith, and while he may now be third on the depth chart, he won clearly won the battle that he set out to win.
Chiefs general manager John Dorsey said he thought Bray clearly demonstrated himself as the team’s third quarterback in a competitive environment.
“He’s been in the system three years, he has deep knowledge of it,” Dorsey said. “I think he has the arm talent, and I think the fourth preseason game he kind of separated himself from the other guys.”
Bray struggled at the outset of the final preseason game against Green Bay, but settled down to lead two key touchdown drives.
“I was standing tall and trying to throw ball through the guy’s chest instead of just putting it there and giving him a ball to catch,” Bray said after the game. “I calmed down, I think everyone kind of calmed down, and we started moving the ball.”
The quarterback battle turned on a dime when the Chiefs signed free agent Nick Foles. The acquisition of Foles changed the tenor of the quarterback battle, Dorsey acknowledged.
“But it puts us into a better opportunity and better advantage to get Nick Foles,” Dorsey said. “Anytime you have a player like that hit the street when he did, you have to exhaust all opportunities to try to get a player like that, because he’s started games.
Bray’s vanquished rivals, Aaron Murray and Kevin Hogan were waived by the Chiefs and move on to new homes. Murray reportedly signed with the practice squad for the Arizona Cardinals, while Hogan joins the Cleveland Browns practice squad.
Dorsey said once the Chiefs chose to keep three quarterbacks on the 53-player roster, there was no consideration given to keeping a fourth quarterback on the practice squad.
“If you kept two, then there’s a chance that you would put him on the practice squad, whoever that person would be,” Dorsey said. “We thought that the three quarterbacks on our final 53 were good enough to be on the 53 and move forward.”
The loss of Hogan means the Chiefs get no return on the investment of a fifth-round pick from this year’s draft. Hogan reunites in Cleveland with offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton, who previously coached Hogan at Stanford.
“Sometimes it doesn’t work out in the system that you have,” Dorsey said. “Right now I think he’s off to another team, and I think he’s familiar with the offensive coordinator on that team. I wish him good luck.”
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Matt Derrick is the lead beat writer for ChiefsDigest.com and the Topeka Capital-Journal. Use the contact page to reach him or find him on Twitter: @MattDerrick.
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