The Tampa Bay Vipers are still looking for their first win of the season. Today, the team was dealt another blow, just before they are set to take on the DC Defenders. Via Mari Faiello of the Tampa Bay Times, Quinton Flowers will be taking a leave of absence from the Vipers.

#Vipers coach Marc Trestman said he hopes #USF’s Flowers will return to practice and the squad soon but isn’t here for personal reasons. Cornelius will get the nod for the start this weekend. — Mari Faiello (@faiello_mari) February 26, 2020

Coach Trestmen hopes Flowers returns to the team soon, but would not elaborate on the nature of the leave or how long Flowers would be gone. Trestmen plans to start Taylor Cornelius in this weekends match-up against DC.

The team addresses the QB situation heading into Week 4 against the @XFLDefenders. pic.twitter.com/zOyM0vJflW — Tampa Bay Vipers (@XFLVipers) February 26, 2020

Last week the Vipers held their own against the league-leading Houston Roughnecks, but could not get it done in the end. DC, on the other hand, was handed their first loss of the year against the Los Angeles Wildcats.

Vipers fans across the internet have practically been begging the franchise to start Flowers at quarterback. Flowers has seen some playing time and was responsible for scoring the teams first offensive touchdown (in week 3). Now, the team is out a pivotal player at a pivotal part of the season.

The Vipers are in a position where they need to start winning some games or they may be eliminated from the playoffs very early in this season. Like Trestmen, we hope to see Flowers back on the field soon. We’ll keep you posted as more develops on this story.

As a true freshman at South Florida, Flowers played in five games and made one start. He finished the season with 111 passing yards and two interceptions and also had 73 yards rushing. Flowers was named the starting quarterback in 2015, where he started all 13 games, completing 163 of 276 passes for 2,296 yards with a school record 22 passing touchdowns and eight interceptions. He also rushed for 991 yards and 12 touchdowns. Flowers returned as the starter in 2016 and was the American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year in 2016, rushing for 1,530 yards and 18 touchdowns, while throwing for 2,812 yards and 24 touchdowns with only 7 interceptions.

How do you think this will effect the Tampa Bay Vipers? Let us know down in the comments below or join the conversation on Discord.