Tag: Clayton Tune

Cardinals bench Josh Dobbs one day after naming him starter vs. Browns

The Browns will not see Josh Dobbs after all.

Just one day after stating Josh Dobbs would start against his former team as the Arizona Cardinals travel to take on the Cleveland Browns, the 1-7 team has made a move. 3While the hope of Kyler Murray is not completely dead for the Cardinals, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport has reported that it will be rookie Clayton Tune who will get that start “barring a significant change of plans.”

The Browns head home after a 1-1 stint on the road, most recently off of a loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. Cleveland has uncertainty at the quarterback position themselves as head coach Kevin Stefanski has not committed to PJ Walker this week after three rough outings. This means either Deshaun Watson will be healthy enough to play, or they may turn back to fifth round rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson.

Either way, Sunday’s matchup in Cleveland has the potential for some ugly quarterback play.

POLL: Who should start for the Cardinals vs. Browns in Week 9?

Jonathan Gannon said it would be Josh Dobbs. Should it be him, Kyler Murray or Clayton Tune?

Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon took any intrigue out of the week leading up to the team’s Week 9 road game against the Cleveland Browns. He said postgame that Josh Dobbs would start in that game.

It will not be Kyler Murray, who is nearing a return from PUP and not rookie Clayton Tune.

The question for fans is who you think should start in Week 9.

Dobbs has been both pretty good and bad, although Gannon has “complete confidence” in Dobbs. The players all rally around him.

Murray is in the final stages of his return. He has not gotten a full week of first-team reps yet.

Tune, a fifth-round rookie, is a complete unknown.

Dobbs threw two interceptions in the team’s 31-24 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday but also threw two touchdown passes to get them back in the game.

Who should start in Week 9? Vote in the poll!

[polldaddy poll=12923681]

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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3 Cardinals rookies make their debut vs. Seahawks

Garrett Williams, Elijah Higgins and Clayton all made their NFL debut in Week 7 against the Seahawks.

The Arizona Cardinals lost on Sunday 20-10 on the road to the Seattle Seahawks. In the loss, rookie cornerback Garrett Williams made his NFL debut, playing for the first time since he tore his ACL in college last October.

He played pretty well.

However, he wasn’t the only Cardinals rookie to make his NFL debut.

Quarterback Clayton Tune and tight end Elijah Higgins also played in the NFL for the first time.

Williams finished with two tackles, an interception, which also counts as a pass breakup.

Tune played only one snap. It was a fake punt on special teams. He completed a four-yard pass. It was fourth-and-nine, so it was not successful.

Higgins was active for the first time this season and got to play on offense and special teams.

He logged seven special teams snaps and six on offense. He had his first NFL reception, although it was for zero yards.

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

 

Behind Enemy Lines: Week 2 Q&A with Cardinals Wire

With a Week 2 matchup between the New York Giants and Arizona Cardinals on tap, we go behind enemy lines for a chat with Cardinals Wire.

The New York Giants (0-1) and Arizona Cardinals (0-1) will square off on Sunday afternoon in a Week 2 matchup at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

The Giants opened the week as 4.5-point road favorites, but the spread has gotten a little worse with New York now at -4.

With this matchup on tap, Giants Wire took the opportunity to hold a Q&A with Cardinals Wire managing editor Jess Root.

Commanders preparing for both Cardinals QBs ahead of Week 1

The Commanders may have an idea about who will start, but they are preparing both Arizona QBs.

The Washington Commanders host the Arizona Cardinals Sunday from FedEx Field to kick off the 2023 season. And there is still some uncertainty about who will play quarterback for the Cardinals.

Will it be recently acquired journeyman Joshua Dobbs or fifth-round rookie Clayton Tune? Arizona head coach Jonathan Gannon has refused to say publicly, but the news leaked that the Cardinals planned to start Dobbs.

Washington head coach Ron Rivera said he understood what the Cardinals were doing this week. As a coach, you are always looking for a competitive advantage. Gannon doesn’t owe it to Washington or fantasy owners to say who will start at quarterback.

So, how are the Commanders preparing for the Cardinals? It’s easy, said defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio. You study them both.

“Study them both,” Del Rio said, per Zach Selby of commanders.com. “Study everything that we can, which includes Cleveland, Philadelphia, Dobbs in Tennessee. Just doing all the due diligence and work that you can leading up to an opener.”

The Cardinals are in this position because they cut presumed starter Colt McCoy during training camp. McCoy was the backup to Kyler Murray, who suffered a torn ACL late last season and is still recovering from the injury.

Cardinals won’t announce starting quarterback ahead of season opener

Jonathan Gannon says a plan is in place and believes not announcing the starter is a competitive advantage.

The Arizona Cardinals are going to have a good ole quarterback competition. With Kyler Murray expected to start the season on PUP and ineligible to return until after Week 4, and with the release of previously presumed starting quarterback Colt McCoy, the Cardinals will decide between rookie Clayton Tune and newly acquired Josh Dobbs as the Week 1 starter.

However, the Cardinals will not make that decision public.

“I’m not going to name a starter because I think it’s a competitive advantage for us going into Washington, but we’ll know who the starter is,” said head coach Jonathan Gannon on Monday.

Gannon suggests that perhaps he knows who it probably is but there will be some competition.

“I think we have a plan in place but I want to see them both play football,” he added. “This week we’ve got some work and then the following week we’ve got some work, but I feel good where were are at.”

When the first depth chart comes out next week, we will probably see the starting quarterback listed with both names separated by an “or”.

If we are guessing, signs point toward Dobbs, but we shall see.

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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POLL: Should Clayton Tune or Josh Dobbs start in Week 1?

Jonathan Gannon won’t announce who the starter will be in Week 1. Which do you think it should be? Vote in the poll!

The Arizona Cardinals will have a quarterback competition between rookie Clayton Tune and newly acquired veteran Josh Dobbs this week and next week to determine who will be the team’s starter in Week 1 when they face the Washington Commanders on the road.

Tune had good and bad moments in the preseason.

Dobbs has been in the league since 2017 but has played in only eight games and started two.

He has only attempted 85 NFL passes in the regular season.

He is familiar with the offensive system, having played for the Cleveland Browns with Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing and quarterbacks coach Israel Woolfork.

Which quarterback should start in Week 1? Should it be Dobbs or Tune?

What do you think? Vote in the poll below.

[polldaddy poll=12696787]

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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Cardinals release former Washington QB Colt McCoy ahead of Week 1 game vs. Commanders

The Cardinals will start a 5th-round rookie or a QB acquired last week against the Commanders in Week 1.

Since it was announced that the Washington Commanders would play the Arizona Cardinals in Week 1 back in May, it appeared that Washington would be facing a familiar foe to kick off the season. With franchise quarterback Kyler Murray out to begin the season with a knee injury, former Washington QB Colt McCoy was expected to start under center for the Cardinals.

Not anymore.

In one of the bigger surprises ahead of NFL cutdown day, the Cardinals released McCoy on Monday. That means the Commanders will either face Joshua Dobbs or rookie fifth-round pick Clayton Tune in Week 1.

The immediate thought of NFL fans on social media were the Cardinals trying to tank, with the hope of selecting USC quarterback Caleb Williams in 2024? That’s a bit too far down the road to make that assumption, but regardless, no quarterback gave the Cardinals a better chance to win than McCoy. He had played well in relief of Murray over the last two seasons.

New Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon said it was about the full body of work when releasing McCoy.

What does this mean for the Commanders come Week 1? Considering many already projected Arizona to be the worst team in 2023, Washington’s defensive line could feast on whoever lines up under center in less than two weeks.

As for McCoy, he should have no trouble finding work as a reliable backup. He spent six seasons in Washington [2014-2019], appearing in 12 games with seven starts. The most memorable performance of his time in Washington was a Monday night win he engineered in 2014.

 

Rookie QB Clayton Tune made more progress in preseason finale

Tune said it was “awesome” getting as much preseason playing time as he did.

Rookie quarterback Clayton Tune got the start for the Arizona Cardinals in their preseason finale on Saturday. He had one really bad play when he did not recognize a blitz coming and he was sacked and lost the ball on a fumble.

The Minnesota Vikings scored a touchdown on the very next play to give them a 14-0 first-quarter lead.

But he bounced back from that. On his next play, he completed a 26-yard pass play to Greg Dortch. They went on to score a field goal on that drive.

“The one strip sack fumble was a big play in the game, and next play out he throws an explosive to Dortch, so I like how he had a quick memory,” he ad coach Jonathan Gannon said postgame. “He responded the right way. I think we scored a field goal on that drive. Thought he took a step forward.”

Tune said after the game it was “awesome” getting the amount of playing time he did in the preseason. He feels like he is a better quarterback than before the preseason.

“I feel like I have learned a lot, grown a lot,” he said. “I just continue to learn each day that goes by.”

Some believe he is in the running for the starting job while Kyler Murray is out. Gannon, though, is not naming starters yet and Tune doesn’t know anything.

“It’s as vague to me (as it is to you),” he said. “My job is to just show up every day and get better and execute and operate the offense.”

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 won’t rule out rookie QB Clayton Tune as Week 1 starter

Gannon says the decision will be made about starters when they have to make those decisions.

The Arizona Cardinals are less than three weeks away from their season opener and it doesn’t look like quarterback Kyler Murray will be ready to play in Week 1. That is no surprise.

Colt McCoy has been operating as the first-team quarterback but his play in the preseason, albeit very limited snaps, has not been impressive.

Is the door open for rookie Clayton Tune, drafted in the fifth round this year?

Head coach Jonathan Gannon won’t rule it out.

When asked on Wednesday if Tune could start in Week 1, he left the door open.

“We’ll see,” he said. “We’re evaluating that every day and we’ll make those decisions when we need to.”

Tune has played the bulk of both preseason games as Gannon believes he needs the game reps.

That is especially important if he ends up being a third-stringer who gets limited practice reps in the regular season.

Tune’s play in the preseason has not been particularly impressive. It hasn’t been bad. He has shown some promise as an NFL quarterback.

But would that be enough to supplant McCoy and the known commodity he is?

My guess is no, but Gannon preaches competition constantly so to name someone a starter now would be to stray from that.

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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