The Cardinals might be down to their third-string QB Monday night against the 49ers.
For the second consecutive year the 49ers may be facing the Arizona Cardinals in a game where the Cardinals don’t have their starting quarterback. Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, both of the Cardinals’ top two QBs are dealing with injuries, and a start from their QB3 is on the table when they 49ers and Cardinals square off in Mexico City on Monday night.
Starting QB Kyler Murray is dealing with a hamstring injury that sidelined him for Arizona’s Week 10 win over the Rams. Backup QB Colt McCoy got the start, but had to exit because of a knee injury that could now sideline him for Monday’s showdown.
If McCoy is unable to play in Week 11, it would likely be former Penn State QB Trace McSorely under center for the Cardinals. He completed two of his four throws for 12 yards last week.
The 49ers would probably prefer not to see McCoy given what he did against them last season at Levi’s Stadium. He went 22-of-26 for 249 yards and a touchdown in Arizona’s 31-17 win.
It’s unlikely San Francisco will be sure of who’s starting for Arizona until much later in the week, though practice participation reports will tell some of the story. With the Monday game, the week gets pushed back so the first practice report will be released Thursday, and we could get an announcement from Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury by Saturday.
Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury shared his thoughts on the Ravens preseason approach
The Baltimore Ravens will face the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday night in the team’s second preseason game of 2022. The game will have multiple former Baltimore Ravens present such as quarterback Trace McSorley, wide receiver Marquise Brown, and tight end Maxx Williams. The Ravens haven’t lost a preseason game since 2015, accumulating 21-straight exhibition wins.
In an interview with Darren Urban of azcardinals.com, Arizona head coach Kliff Kingsbury discussed Baltimore’s preseason streak. Kingsburry said he respects the Ravens mindset on the preseason and the streak itself, calling Baltimore one of the most successful franchises in the NFL.
“That’s part of their culture. They say we’re going to win these games and help it build into the regular season. I respect that approach. Obviously, their team believes. They have one of the most successful franchises in the league. We’ll get their best shot.”
The game between the Ravens and Cardinals will be televised nationally at 8 p.m. EST, adding even more intrigue to the matchup. Many of Baltimore’s starters aren’t expected to play, including quarterback Lamar Jackson. Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray won’t be suiting up either, so it will be a battle between players who are looking to earn playing time or even a roster spot.
Touchdown Wire ranks the 32 NFL teams in terms of stability and potential at the game’s most important position over the next 3-4 seasons.
Tom Brady might be the best quarterback ever, but he’s not the best in the NFL right now. He certainly won’t be the best in 2022.
He’s human, after all, and at age 42, regression is inevitable even for someone with six Super Bowl rings. That puts the New England Patriots in an uncertain situation at quarterback two or three years down the road. The New Orleans Saints, with 40-year-old Drew Brees under center, find themselves in a similar scenario.
Other teams, such as the Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers, likely will face difficult personnel decisions at the quarterback position much sooner than that. Only a handful of teams, notably the Kansas City Chiefs and Seattle Seahawks, appear secure in their quarterback situation for years to come.
All this got us thinking about the quarterback situations of the future — and where each of the NFL’s 32 teams ranks in terms of preparedness at the game’s most crucial position.
By quarterback situations, we mean the full overview of each team’s quarterbacks group, including backups and a potential succession plan, if necessary. For this exercise, we will define the future as three to four years down the road.
To help form these opinions, we consulted with a blue-ribbon panel of one former head coach, two former general managers and one current general manager. They were asked for their thoughts on each team’s quarterback situation. They provided insight to inform our rankings.
With that in mind, we present Touchdown Wire’s future quarterback rankings for every NFL team, from worst to first:
32. Miami Dolphins
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Earlier this season, many observers accused the Dolphins of tanking to earn the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft and presumably select a quarterback. Since then, Miami (2-8) has been eclipsed by the ineptitude of Cincinnati (0-10) and Washington (1-9), so the Dolphins might not get the first QB off the board. Currently, the Dolphins have Ryan Fitzpatrick and Josh Rosen on their roster. Rosen has failed in his playing time. There’s no way he’ll be back next year. The Dolphins have the option to hang onto Fitzpatrick, 36, who’s currently under contract next season at $5.5 million. It makes sense to keep Fitzpatrick around for one more year to help groom a young quarterback. That could be LSU’s Joe Burrow, Alabama’s Tua Tagavailoa (although his recent hip injury now complicates his draft status), Oregon’s Justin Herbert or Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts. Two members of my panel said they like Burrow better than Tagovailoa. Either way, it’s going to take some time to develop a young quarterback.
31. Chicago Bears
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For the moment, Mitchell Trubisky is Chicago’s starting quarterback. But it doesn’t appear that he will be in that role next year — although he remains under contract and the team holds a fifth-year option on the No. 2 overall pick from 2017. Given his level of play this season, it’s highly unlikely he will receive the option year, and he might not even see 2020 with the Bears — although the cap hit for cutting him would be slightly more than $9 million. The Bears are 4-6 after going 12-4 last year. There’s one main reason for the decline. That’s Trubisky. My panelists say he’s holding the offense back and could end up keeping a good team out of the playoffs. All four panelists agree Trubisky should be nothing more than a backup. Current backup Chase Daniel’s contract expires after this season. So there’s no telling who will be Chicago’s quarterback next year. Maybe the Bears will draft a quarterback. But with a talented roster already in place, the Bears should be first in line to sign New Orleans backup Teddy Bridgewater as a free agent.
30. Cincinnati Bengals
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Veteran Andy Dalton has been benched, and the Bengals are giving rookie fourth-rounder Ryan Finley a shot. There should be no turning back to Dalton, even though he remains under contract for 2020 with a $17.5 million scheduled salary. The Bengals can cut Dalton after the season without any salary cap ramifications. It’s too early to judge Finley. Cincinnati is going to end up with an early draft pick and could have a shot at Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Herbert or Jalen Hurts. The Bengals will be starting over. But, given their current state, that’s not a bad thing. “Dalton had more than enough time and couldn’t win consistently,” one panelist said. “I have no idea what they have in Finley. But they have to draft a quarterback if they’re sitting there at No. 1 or 2.”
29. Washington Redskins
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The current situation is a mess. Veterans Colt McCoy and Case Keenum, who clearly aren’t the answer, each is in the last year of their contract. The Redskins have little choice but to play rookie Dwayne Haskins, who has five interceptions and two touchdown passes, the rest of this season. Call it an audition for Haskins. But this situation is complicated because the Redskins currently have interim coach Bill Callahan, who took over when Jay Gruden was fired. There will be a new coach next year, and he might not like Haskins. With an early draft pick likely, the new coach might want his own guy. Give up on Haskins after only one season? Arizona did it with 2018 first-round pick Josh Rosen after drafting Kyler Murray. All four of our panelists said Haskins was overrated when he was drafted.
