Jay Gruden On Tony Pike: He Doesn't Have Confidence In His Surgically Repaired Elbow

Former University of Cincinnati Bearcats and Carolina Panthers quarterback Tony Pike is spending this weekend working out with the team during the team's rookie minicamp at Paul Brown Stadium. Not signed to a contract, Pike is hoping that a tryout will give him an opportunity to make the team, at least continuing to improve upon his chances of finding a home in the NFL.

It doesn't look good.

Geoff Hobson with Bengals.com writes that Bengals offensive coordinator Jay Gruden is noticing problems that Pike is having, namely that he "doesn't have enough confident in his elbow to zip the ball and let it loose," a result from recent procedures he's had done to his elbow. Hobson write:

Pike has had two elbow surgeries, the last one two months ago, and Gruden said it looks like he needs more time to get his confidence and full strength back...

Pike is fairly popular in Cincinnati, mostly among Bearcats fans who watched their quarterback lead Brian Kelly's offense to multiple Big East Championships and BCS bowl games in the 2009 Orange Bowl and 2010 Sugar Bowl.