Mimicking Aaron Rodgers in practice earns Clayton Tune the Pat Tillman Award

After helping the Cardinals defense against the Jets by mimicking Aaron Rodgers in practice, Clayton Tune got to wear the Pat Tillman jersey.

The Arizona Cardinals had a bonus day of practice this week after their return from the bye and that meant the winner of the Pat Tillman Scout Team Player of the Week was able to wear the special No. 40 jersey for an extra day.

Backup quarterback Clayton Tune was the recipient, thanks to the job he did emulating Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers in practice that week.

Had coach Jonathan Gannon noted, “We didn’t jump offsides one time against the Jets. I think we jumped offsides four times in practice because of the cadence, so I thought he did an excellent job there. Obviously, he was dealing it in practice, and that was a huge part of the winning edge for us was cadence and he did a good job with it.”

That was especially true thanks to the success Rodgers has had over the years inducing defenders to jump.

Gannon called him “one of the best ever. He gets everybody multiple times in a game. He didn’t get us once. I thought the Red Sea had something to do with that too. I thought it was loud, so that probably minimized it a little bit. Throughout the week, we pointed it out after each practice that we were jumping offsides and we did a couple different things to try to mimic it. Clayton did a good job. That was a huge part of that game.

“You don’t want to give him free plays, not just the five yards. If you look over his career, but we showed them a tape with 18 touchdown passes because people are jumping offsides and he is throwing the ball up and down the field. So we had our standard operating procedure on how he wanted to handle that if we did (jump offsides). I thought it was a good job by the collective group to read their keys.”

Tune said of Rodgers, “He’s a master at using cadence and getting the D-line to jump offsides and get free plays so that was a huge point of emphasis and I did my best to do his impression and try to get them to jump offsides. I think it worked. I think our D-line was pretty disciplined against the Jets.

“I was trying to dial it up and get creative and do everything I could to get them to jump. In the game they were able to hold off, so I’m proud of them for that.”

Tune said he figured out what to do in practice from watching Rodgers during his entire career: “Just watching his mannerisms and it’s really about voice inflection and body language and stuff, so it seems like you’re calling for the ball in the first cadence when you’re really not. So I think it’s just the culmination of watching him over the course of his career.”

As for the jersey, Tune said, “It’s really cool. It’s awesome. It’s an honor to be able to wear the same number and have the camo on the jersey.

“I’d always heard the stories and I believe there was A Football Life documentary on him on NFL Network. I remember watching that as a kid, so I was always familiar with him. I didn’t know about his entire story, but I knew he was a great player and a great person.”

He and all the players see the shrine to Tillman in his preserved locker all the time.

“It’s definitely something that you see every day,” Tune said. “You don’t ignore it. You walk by it and you look at it and it’s cool to see and you have respect for him in that locker.”

Players are motivated to win the award each week, and Gannon announces the winner during a team meeting the day before the game.

When he heard his name called, Tune said, “I smiled and I was proud to be able to have that honor and am hoping to try and do it again.”

2024 Pat Tillman Scout-Team Award Winners

Week 1: RB Michael Carter (practice squad)

Week 2: LB Markus Bailey (practice squad)

Week 3: WR Andre Baccellia (practice squad)

Week 4: OL Jon Gaines II

Week 5: WR Xavier Weaver

Week 6: DL P.J. Mustipher (practice squad)

Week 7: S Joey Blount

Week 8: WR Chris Moore (practice squad)

Week 9: OLB Ronnie Perkins (practice squad)

Week 10: QB Clayton Tune

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on SpotifyYouTube or Apple podcasts.

 

Cardinals HC explains how backup QB competition continues after final cuts

Jonathan Gannon explains how Desmond Ridder and Clayton Tune are still in competition with one another.

For now, at least, quarterback Clayton Tune is the backup to Kyler Murray on the Arizona Cardinals’ 53-man roster.

However, head coach Jonathan Gannon made it clear Wednesday that even though Tune won a “close” competition, the battle continues with Desmond Ridder signed to the practice squad after being waived Tuesday.

“It’s an all-encompassing role playing the backup quarterback,” Gannon said. “I thought he (Tune) did a really good job. Thought he improved his game from last year to this year. Command, playing fast, taking care of the ball. It was really close. They both did a really good job.”

Gannon also addressed what looked to be a bad interception by Tune near the end of Sunday’s preseason game against the Broncos and without being specific relieved some of the blame from the quarterback.

He said, “That interception goes to show you, to the naked eye, looks like it’s on him. (But) all 11 guys gotta do their job to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

When asked his specific thoughts on Ridder, Gannon said, “I want Des back. I think he can help us. Just because he’s on the practice squad and Clayton is the two, Clayton knows there’s competition every day for that spot.”

That prompted a question wondering how the backups can be developed during the regular season and compete when there are so few snaps available in practice.

Gannon relished that question, by saying, “I would love to talk about this.”

He then did, expansively, explaining, “We do some different things to make sure that we are playing football throughout the week and not just carding everything. I learned that from (Eagles head coach) Nick Sirianni. (He) was the first guy to do it like that, talking about it with different staff members, things like that. He had his reasons why he did that.”

Gannon brought it with him to Arizona and said, “We run cards. We don’t run a ton of cards and there’s reasons behind that. One of them being we need to see guys that are backups or on the practice squad play football and develop. In the practice squad, I’ll tell those guys on Monday, and they know this: It’s not a landing spot, it’s really a trampoline. If you’re not improving your game, and you’re gonna get times to show that you are improving your game, and if you’re not, we’re gonna replace you. That’s the nature of that spot.”

He believes the practice approach was helpful during the 2023 season.

“I feel really good that’s one of the reasons, and we’ll see this year, but last year we did improve as the season kept going,” he said. “I think how we set up practice; that was one of the reasons. I didn’t come up with it. I’d never done it like that through my whole time in the NFL and Coach Sirianni did.

“And I saw the value of that. It’s a little bit different, but we structure it like that.”

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on SpotifyYouTube or Apple podcasts.

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Cardinals’ backup QB battle close to final decision

Desmond Ridder and Clayton Tune are battling for the backup spot on the Cardinals. Drew Petzing is happy with how both have played.

The earth-shaking report came from NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport Thursday, saying that Arizona Cardinals quarterback Clayton Tune would start in Sunday’s preseason finale against the Denver Broncos.

The report also claimed the Cardinals “could” keep three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster that will be named by 1 p.m. Arizona time Tuesday, but will also be fluid every day after that.

Well, of course, they “could.” They also could keep only two.

Tune was a fifth-round pick in 2023, while Ridder was acquired in a trade in March for wide receiver Rondale Moore, who is now on the Falcons’ injured reserve list.

In the first two preseason games and training camp, Tune has been the better player, especially with accuracy.

Thursday morning, when offensive coordinator Drew Petzing spoke to the media, he downplayed the significance of who starts a preseason game, while not confirming the plan for Sunday in Denver.

“I know people are going to make a big deal of who starts the game. I don’t really see it that way,” he said. “Competitions at every position are going to come down to final cuts. That’s the nature of this business; it’s the reality of training camp. So, excited to see those guys go out and play, and play at a high level and expect them to do that regardless of who is in the game first.”

Petzing said he’s liked what both players have done in the two games against the Saints and Colts.

He said, “The game-day operation; I thought it’s been pretty clean. I thought the ball is going where it should be. Certainly, there are some plays we’d like to have back. It takes 11 guys to operate an offense. So a lot of that is not always on their performance one way or the other, good and bad.

“A lot of it for the quarterback is decision-making, operation and are we doing we doing what we should be at the position. We’ve done some things well. There’s certainly things we need to clean up for both guys and that’s gonna be true throughout the year for everybody on this roster.”

Noting the importance of having backups prepared to play, Petzing said, “The reality of the NFL game is that guys get hurt. It’s unfortunate, but it’s real. The quarterback position had what, 60-plus starters last year in the National Football League? So, you want everybody on that roster, if they have a jersey, to be ready to go, ready to operate the offense, ready to give us the best chance to win.

“That’s preached in the meeting room as a team. It’s certainly preached by me as an offense. And that’s gotta be our mindset.”

As for how Tune has improved from his rookie season, Petzing said, “The pace of play is faster. He’s making decisions faster, in and out of the huddle he’s quicker. The operation; he’s not thinking. For Year 1, which is true for a lot of rookies, certainly at the quarterback position, you can almost watch them think as they play. Which is not ideal.

“Going into Year 2, it’s a lot more anticipation and a lot more like quick-twitch reaction rather than, ‘Oh they did this, now I do that.’ It’s like, ‘No, it’s I think they’re about to do this, so I’m going to be ready to do that. And I think that’s really helped speed up his process and allowed him to play at a good level.”

Of Ridder, Petzing said, “He came in here and learned the offense very quickly and put himself in position to be part of this competition.”

However, the big question remains: Will the Cardinals keep two or three quarterbacks? Asked what he would prefer, noting it’s not his call and that general manager Monti Ossenfort and head coach Jonathan Gannon will do that, Petzing smiled and said, “That’s the best part about it; I don’t have to make that decision.”

He then said, “If you have guys that play the position at a high level, you absolutely want them on the roster. We talked about it; 60-plus guys started (last season). You never know who you’re gonna need at what point.”

Of course, he knows it’s not as simple as keeping two or three.

“There’s so many things that go into that conversation and it’s usually not just about that position,” Petzing said. “It’s about a number of other positions and how it fits the roster. That’s gonna be a job for Monti and JG to work through here over the next couple days. Certainly, I want to make that conversation hard on them and make sure that they’re really confident that those guys are ready to go regardless of who’s called in to play the game.”

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on SpotifyYouTube or Apple podcasts.

 

For now at least, on-key QB Clayton Tune has leg up on Desmond Ridder

Score it Round 1 for Clayton Tune.

Score it Round 1 for Clayton Tune.

That’s the consensus following the Arizona Cardinals’ 16-14 loss to the New Orleans Saints Saturday night, but it comes with a caveat.

With quarterback Kyler Murray not playing, Desmond Ridder started and played the entire first half. However, he was joined by all backups, save for rookie wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., who was on the field only on the first Cardinals possession of the game, which lasted three plays.

Tune played the entire second half, while beginning and ending his playing time with touchdown drives. He was surrounded by the third team, which also faced the Saints’ second and third unit. The offensive line consisted mostly of left tackle Austen Pleasants, left guard Isaiah Adams, center Keith Ismael, right guard Marquis Hayes and right tackle Jackson Barton.

Trailing 6-0 to start the third quarter, Tune led the Cardinals on a nine-play, 70-yard drive that resulted in a Michael Carter 11-yard touchdown run for a 7-6 lead. An 11-play, 76-yard drive gave the Cardinals a 14-13 lead on a 10-yard scoring pass to running back Tony Jones Jr. with 1:55 to play. On the first drive, Tune completed 4-of-5 passes for 54 yards and he was 5-for-9 for 61 yards on the final one.

“Good command and he played fast,” head coach Jonathan Gannon said. “I thought he made some throws in there too. Some guys stepped up and made some plays. I thought he was aware of what was going on out there, making correct decisions and he made some plays.”

Said Tune, “I definitely felt more comfortable. I felt like I was seeing the defense and (I was) confident in the game plan, so I felt like I was seeing it well and playing on time. I had a good bead on what they were doing. Just felt like I had a plan pre-snap, and then post-snap I was able to confirm that plan.”

Last year as a rookie, Tune was learning and also was high on numerous passes to the sideline in preseason games. That wasn’t the case Saturday.

“I think being more decisive helps you throw the ball better,” he said. “When you know where you’re going with the ball, you’re able to throw it with a little more anticipation.”

For the game, Tune was 15-for-24 for 163 yards and a passer rating of 96.4.

Ridder wasn’t as fortunate, completing 4-of-9 passes for 43 yards and a 59.0 rating, although he was productive with his legs gaining 39 yards on five carries, including one for 22 yards.

In the first quarter, the Cardinals totaled 27 yards on 10 plays and didn’t have a first down. On their first four possessions, it was 17 plays for 55 yards until managing three first downs and 57 yards on 10 plays on the final possession of the half. A big miss came on fourth-and-2 from the New Orleans 12 with 32 seconds remaining when a pass that might have gone for a touchdown was beyond the reach of wide-open wide receiver Andre Baccellia.

Asked about Ridder’s play, Gannon said, “You’d like to get some first downs, but that’s just not on the quarterback. That’s on everybody. He’s not blocking for himself and he’s not running routes for himself. I think as a whole we have to do a little bit better. I thought we were a little leaky a little bit in pass-pro. It seemed like Des was off the spot a little too much and a little too quick, but I thought the run game looked pretty good.

“We’re going to play physical and violent and we have to be able to move people on the line of scrimmage and get our backs going.”

After two days of practice and then a game against the Colts this week, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Tune is the starter on Saturday.

As for the battle for the backup job, Tune said, “I’m not really thinking about it, but I’m not actively avoiding it. I just focus on improving my game each and every day and focusing on what I can do.”

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on SpotifyYouTube or Apple podcasts.

 

Backup QB battle also battle with other players, positions

Desmond Ridder and Clayton Tune battle for the No. 2 QB spot but the eventual No. 3 is battling for a spot on the roster with other positions.

As the Arizona Cardinals are in training camp, one of the more notable roster and position battles is at quarterback — well, at the backup quarterback position behind Kyler Murray, who is very clearly the starter.

It is between Desmond Ridder, acquired via trade in the offseason, and Clayton Tune, drafted in the fifth round a year ago and who was the backup in 2023.

Ridder has 17 games of starting experience in two seasons with the Atlanta Falcons and has very average numbers — an 8-9 record with 14 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions.

Tune started one game as a rookie and it was horrendous — 0 points, 62 yards, two interceptions, seven sacks.

How has the competition been?

“They’ve both been good,” head coach Jonathan Gannon on Thursday. “(QB coach Israel Woolfork) has done a good job with those guys and they know it’s a healthy competition that’s going to be competitive for the two-three spot.”

Gannon referred to both of them as “mature, self-aware, consistent guys.”

There is a plan in place for giving them reps with the first, second and third-team offense.

But the quarterback battle isn’t just a battle for who is the backup. It is also a battle to be on the roster for the third quarterback.

The Cardinals only kept two quarterbacks on the active roster all last season. A third — Jeff Driskel — was on the practice squad.

But whether they keep two or three is not so much a battle with each other. It is a battle with other players on the roster.

“There’s a trickle-down effect to the entire roster that that affects, so in essence we talked about competing for your role,” Gannon explained. “OK, so I’m a DB and I’m competing vs. these other DBs. I’m also competing against that receiver, that tight end, that back because what you do on game day and all three phases applies to that and it’s a reality in the NFL and our guys know that.

“It sounds harsh as I said that, but it’s the reality.”

So while there will be a competition between Ridder and Tune for the No. 2 spot, each is also battling to make the team over another player at another position if he is going to be QB3.

Gannon didn’t give any clues as to whether Ridder or Tune leads the competition.

That will be determined in the weeks to come.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on SpotifyYouTube or Apple podcasts.

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NFL owners approve change to emergency QB rule

The Cardinals will be able to have an emergency QB despite only keeping two QBs on the roster.

Correction: In the original version of the article, it stated that teams could elevate a quarterback to be the emergency quarterback in addition to the two standard elevations. That was incorrect. A team may elevate a quarterback to be the emergency quarterback as part of their allowed two standard elevations. 

The NFL is changing the emergency quarterback rule they established last season. At the annual league meeting in Orlando on Tuesday, owners approved a change that makes it easier for teams to have a third quarterback available for games for emergencies.

Teams will now be able to elevate a quarterback from the practice squad and have him be eligible to be the emergency quarterback.

Following the San Francisco 49ers losing both active quarterbacks to injury in the NFC Championship Game two seasons ago, the league approved a change that would allow a third quarterback on the active roster be designated among the team’s inactive players as the emergency quarterback, eligible to play only in the case of both active quarterbacks being ruled out with injury.

Under last season’s rules, a quarterback on the practice squad and elevated to the active roster for the game was not eligible to receive that emergency QB designation.

Teams will now be permitted to, as part of the two standard elevations from the practice squad each week, can elevate a quarterback to serve as the emergency quarterback.

Unlike the standard elevation rules that allow players to be elevated three times before they must clear waivers, teams can elevate a quarterback unlimited times.

What does this mean?

It likely means that few teams will keep three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster.

The Arizona Cardinals never designated an emergency quarterback last season. They only kept two quarterbacks on the active roster and then had a third on the practice squad.

Under the new rule, they can continue to do this and now be able to elevate the third player for games, include him on the inactive list but allow him to dress for the game for emergency purposes.

As the Cardinals acquired Desmond Ridder this offseason and he is presumed to be the primary backup to Kyler Murray, this new change will likely affect Clayton Tune. If the Cardinals can get Tune to the practice squad, he will at least get to dress each week.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

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QB Desmond Ridder already friends with new Cardinals teammate Clayton Tune

New Cardinals QB Desmond Ridder will be competing with Tune, a friend, for the backup role behind Kyler Murray.

The Arizona Cardinals have a new quarterback on the team in Desmond Ridder, acquired in a trade this week with the Atlanta Falcons for wide receiver Rondale Moore. Ridder does not know Kyler Murray but does already have a friend on the team.

Per a story on the official team site, Ridder is already friends with Clayton Tune, the Cardinals’ backup quarterback last season as a rookie fifth-round pick out of Houston.

Ridder first met Tune last year when Ridder was doing offseason training after his rookie season and Tune was at the same facility training for the Combine and draft. The two also had some mutual connections and faced each other in college when Tune was playing for Houston and Ridder for Cincinnati.

Now they will be competitors. Ridder is definitely favored to win the backup job. Last season, the Cardinals kept only two quarterbacks on the active roster. If that is the plan again in 2024, Ridder and Tune will be battling for a roster spot.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

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Jonathan Gannon calls Clayton Tune an ideal backup QB

Gannon seems to believe in the rookie fifth-round pick as his current and potentially future backup quarterback.

The Arizona Cardinals have a rookie as their backup quarterback. In many case, that isn’t ideal unless he is being groomed behind a veteran to become a starter.

With Clayton Tune, a fifth-round rookie, that is not the case. He is simply a young quarterback behind Kyler Murray.

Prior to this year, the Cardinals have opted for experience with Colt McCoy and Brett Hundley.

Some would question having such an inexperienced player behind a player like Murray.

Head coach Jonathan Gannon believes Tune has the traits to make an ideal quarterback.

“We have that guy on our team right now,” he told reporters Monday, speaking of Tune. “I would say what jumps out to me is his brain, because when you’re one play away from going in the game and taking minimal rep— really game plan specific reps with four days— you’ve got to be pretty in tune to do that. That’s probably what I would say because those guys don’t get a lot of reps and then to jump in the game and play winning football for you, that’s hard to do. There’s not a lot of positions that—and you have to have them all that do that, but at that position specifically talking to the quarterback, there’s so much on his plate mentally and physically to be able to operate in a level that you can win a game with is hard.”

Tune’s one start this season was bad. It was a 27-0 loss to the Cleveland Browns. He had only 58 passing yards and two picks.

What will be telling is what happens in the offseason. If they really see him as an ideal backup, the Cardinals will not pursue a veteran backup in the offseason.

Are these just words to talk up the backup they have or will their actions back them up?

We will see in the offseason.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

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Clayton Tune has a new role on offense

It sounds like we can expect him in the game for quarterback sneaks or apparent quarterback sneaks like on Sunday against the Falcons.

After rookie quarterback Clayton Tune made his first career start in Week 9, it appeared that he would quietly move back into an invisible role as backup quarterback who gets no snaps.

After all, Kyler Murray was coming back and, for the first eight games of the season when Josh Dobbs started, he did not log a single offensive snap.

With Murray back, though, Tune appears to have a greater role than he did when Dobbs was the starter.

He played two offensive snaps, lined up twice for what would appear as a “tush push” quarterback sneak, a play in which the quarterback snaps take the snap under center and pushes forward with the help of his teammates in the backfield.

One was the sneak in which Tune scored a touchdown. The other was a fake sneak and toss to James Conner for the first down.

Head coach Jonathan Gannon suggested that Tune will continue to come in for those plays.

“We like the play type with Clayton in there,” Gannon said after the game.  “He’ll continue to have some certain plays up each week and he did a good job executing. That’s not easy to do coming in a game cold and getting a snap and scoring.”

Tune is 6-foot-3 and 220 lbs, making him a little better fit for that quarterback sneak play, as opposed to the 5-foot-10, 207-lb Murray.

With the Cardinals running both types of plays on Sunday, converting on both, teams will have to account for both options.

Tune played terribly in his start against the Cleveland Browns. He was sacked seven times, turned the ball over three times and had only 58 passing yards in a 27-0 loss.

Gannon was impressed with how Tune responded.

“He had a great week of practice — a really good week of practice,” he said. “He came back the right way after getting beat up a little bit, and that’s how coaches and players need to respond when you get beat up a little bit. It shows your true character.”

It would appear that Tune can officially be someone for fans to have on their radar for fantasy and prop bet purposes.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

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Clayton Tune’s terrible 1st start one of many in Cardinals history

Tune had 58 passing yards, two interceptions and was sacked seven times.

The Arizona Cardinals had things go about as badly as they could on Sunday in rookie quarterback Clayton Tune’s first career start. They were shut out 27-0 by the Cleveland Browns.

Tune was sacked seven times, threw two interceptions and lost a fumble. He completed 11-of-20 passes for 58 yards and two picks. He finished with a passer rating of 20.8.

Longtime Cardinals fans should be used to quarterbacks making their first start playing poorly.

Let’s look back at a few of the stinkers.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.