Kyler Murray

QB Tyler Huntley Works Out For Arizona

April 11th, 2025 at 9:04pm CST by Ely Allen

After getting a chance to play near his hometown in Miami last year, backup quarterback Tyler Huntley could get a chance to play near his alma mater in 2025. According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2, Huntley worked out for the Cardinals today.

Originally an undrafted free agent out of Utah, Huntley signed with the Ravens to open his NFL career. Huntley served the next four seasons as the team’s backup to Lamar Jackson. After not seeing much action in his rookie season, Huntley closed out the 2021 and 2022 seasons as a starter for Baltimore as Jackson ended each year injured.

In those two years, Huntley appeared in 13 games, making eight starts. He completed just under two thirds of his pass attempts for five touchdowns and seven interceptions over that time, but his rushing abilities allowed him to continue running a similar style of offense as Jackson. He added 331 rushing yards for three touchdowns over those two years, though he also had seven fumbles. His second stint filling in for Jackson earned him Pro Bowl honors, thanks to in large part to the fan vote and injuries to other candidates.

He signed with the Browns in 2024 and made the 53-man roster, but after Cleveland was unable to muster up any trade interest for Huntley, he was released and signed back with the Ravens‘ practice squad. His 2024 season took a turn when the Dolphins signed him off Baltimore’s taxi squad due to a concussion to starter Tua Tagovailoa. After three starts, Huntley was placed on injured reserve, though he did return to start the final two games of Miami’s season.

In Arizona, Huntley would have some tough competition for the backup job behind Kyler Murray. The Cardinals already roster Jacoby Brissett and Clayton Tune as backups. While Brissett has far more experience than Huntley, Huntley more closely matches Murray’s playing style and could make for a more seamless transition in the case of an injury.

Kyler Murray Locks In 2026 Guarantees

March 17th, 2025 at 10:30pm CST by Adam La Rose

The early portion of the new league year often represents a key checkpoint with respect to future guarantees vesting. In the case of Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray, much of his 2026 compensation has now been locked in.

By virtue of remaining on Arizona’s roster past Saturday, Murray’s base salary for the 2026 season ($22.84MM) has shifted to a full guarantee. In addition, $10MM of his $17MM roster bonus – to be paid out next March – is now guaranteed (h/t Tom Pelissero of NFL Network). Of the $42.54MM Murray is scheduled to make in 2026, all but roughly $10MM is now locked in as a result.

The 2019 No. 1 pick has faced questions about his Cardinals future following the ACL tear which ended his 2022 campaign. Murray’s rehab kept him sidelined until Week 10 of the following season, but he did not encounter any setbacks and logged a full slate in 2024. The Cardinals will look for that run of health to continue into 2025 and beyond while aiming to take another step forward under head coach Jonathan Gannon and general manager Monti Ossenfort.

Gannon has been vocal on more than one occasion about his support for Murray as Arizona’s starter over the short- and long-term future. The first year of the Gannon-Ossenfort regime saw the team only post four wins, but three of them came after Murray returned to the lineup. The Cardinals progressed to 8-9 in 2024, with a poor run after the bye week ending their chances of topping the NFC West. Continued development will of course require high-end play on Murray’s part.

The 27-year-old’s completion percentage (68.8%) and passing yards (3,851) from 2024 were the second-highest of his career. Murray added 572 yards and five touchdowns on the ground, so mobility will not be a question mark moving forward. Overall, Arizona finished 12th in scoring and 11th in total offense last year; improvement in the passing game would go a long way in ensuring development on that side of the ball and giving the Cardinals a chance to at least qualify for a wild-card berth in 2025.

Murray’s 2022 extension has him on the books for four more years. As things stand, none of his salaries for 2027 or ’28 are locked in, but that will change one year from now if things go according to plan. His $19.5MM salary for the 2027 season will vest next March provided he remains in the fold. Of course, a strong campaign this coming season could also open the door to a new pact being worked out.

Injury Notes: Bears, Walker, Murray, Bosa

September 11th, 2024 at 9:17pm CST by Ben Levine

The Bears got good news surrounding the knee injury that knocked Rome Odunze out of Sunday’s season opener. Per Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz, the rookie wide receiver suffered a Grade 1 knee sprain, the “best-case scenario” for the team and player.

Odunze suffered his MCL injury while blocking for Velus Jones Jr. during a fourth-quarter screen pass. The rookie stayed in the game for one additional play before exiting for good. The wideout is officially considered week-to-week, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, and there’s been no indication that the ninth-overall pick will have a stay on injured reserve. Coach Matt Eberflus said the Bears were “lucky” to avoid a serious injury, and he even kept the door open to Odunze playing in Week 2.

Wednesday’s injury report also showed that fellow receiver Keenan Allen didn’t practice while nursing a heel injury. Eberflus later clarified that the wideout was considered day-to-day, and there’s hope the offseason acquisition can hit the practice field on Thursday and Friday following his day off.

In the unlikely event that both Odunze and Allen are sidelined, the Bears’ deep wide receiver grouping will be down to just D.J. Moore. Rookie QB Caleb Williams is certainly hoping for his full arsenal of wideouts following an NFL debut where he completed only 14 of 29 pass attempts for 93 yards.

More injury notes from around the NFL…

Kenneth Walker left Sunday’s game with an oblique injury and didn’t practice on Wednesday, per the Seahawks‘ injury report. Mike Macdonald said the running back is day-to-day (via ESPN’s Brady Henderson), but another missed practice would obviously put the player’s Week 2 availability in doubt. Walker exited the season opener after compiling 103 rushing yards and one touchdown. Zach Charbonnet finished the game at running back, scoring a 30-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Kyler Murray was a full participant at today’s practice, but the Cardinals QB still showed up on the injury report with a knee injury. Murray, of course, suffered an ACL injury during the 2022 campaign, and 2024 represented his first healthy offseason in a few years. Murray didn’t miss a snap on Sunday, and it seemed like his knee was in good shape after he ran for 57 yards. Clayton Tune is the only other QB currently on the active roster.
The Chargers announced that Joey Bosa was a limited participant at Wednesday’s practice while dealing with a back injury. The pass rusher appeared in 60 percent of his team’s defensive snaps in Week 1, collecting a sack and a forced fumble along the way. The long-time Charger has been snake bitten by injuries over the past few years, missing 20 total games.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport passes along a list of other notable players who didn’t practice on Wednesday, including Bengals receiver Tee Higgins (hamstring), Chiefs receiver Marquise Brown (shoulder), Browns tight end David Njoku (ankle), Packers quarterback Jordan Love (MCL), and Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore (hip/hamstring).

Jonathan Gannon: ‘No Doubt’ Kyler Murray Is Cardinals’ Franchise QB

January 2nd, 2024 at 4:51pm CST by Sam Robinson

Jonathan Gannon has not exactly been hesitant to praise Kyler Murray since taking over as the Cardinals’ head coach. But the second half of Arizona’s season has been framed around seeing how the former Pro Bowler looks in a new offense. More talent around Murray is clearly needed, but the rookie HC is still confident in his triggerman.

When asked during a radio interview with Arizona Sports’ Burns and Gambo Tuesday (via AZCardinsals.com) about Murray’s post-2023 future in Arizona, Gannon said, “There is no doubt No. 1 is our franchise quarterback.” Chuckling at the question of the Cards’ 2024 QB1, Gannon has been consistent in his support for the fifth-year quarterback.

An updated endorsement is necessary not only due to Murray’s run of starts but because of the Cardinals’ draft position. Although their upset win over the Eagles dropped them in the draft order, the team still sits fourth. With neither the Bears nor Commanders — stationed at Nos. 1 and 2 — locked into drafting a quarterback, the Cardinals could have an important decision to make. Nearly a year after trading out of the No. 3 overall draft slot and signing off on a rebuilding year as Murray rehabbed his torn ACL, Gannon and GM Monti Ossenfort appear prepared to roll out the dual-threat QB in 2024 as well.

Murray is 3-4 as a starter, tripling the win total the Cardinals accumulated with Josh Dobbs at the helm, and has offered up-and-down work in OC Drew Petzing‘s attack. Murray is averaging just 6.5 yards per attempt. While that is up from his disappointing finale with Kliff Kingsbury, it is well south of his Pro Bowl work from 2020 and 2021. His 64.5% completion rate is also on pace to be the worst since his rookie year. That said, the Cardinals have a bottom-tier skill-position array and figure to be in the market for wide receiver help soon. Marquise Brown is finishing this season on IR; the 2022 trade acquisition will be an unrestricted free agent in March.

The Cardinals’ five-year, $230.5MM Murray extension will be difficult to move in 2024, anyway. Less effusive in praising the QB he inherited, Sean Payton‘s deteriorating relationship with Russell Wilson is set to key a record-shattering $84.6MM in dead money. Even though that will be spread over two years via a post-June 1 cut, the Broncos’ 2025 end of that total — slated at $55MM — would still eclipse what it would cost the Cardinals to move Murray in 2024. Still, Arizona would be tagged with $46MM in dead money if Murray were traded before June 1. Until the Wilson cut commences, the Falcons’ $40.5MM Matt Ryan dead-money hit resides as the NFL’s single-player record.

The Cards owe Murray an $11.9MM guarantee on March 17 — Day 5 of the 2023 league year — if he is still on the roster; that money covers part of his 2025 salary. The year-out guarantee would stand to drive an early trade, but it would be punitive for the Cardinals. And it does not appear Arizona will consider it.

While it is too early to call the Steve Keim-era investment a lock to remain with the now-Ossenfort-led Cardinals in the long term, Gannon continues to insist the former No. 1 overall pick is not leaving the desert in 2024.

NFC West Rumors: Murray, Dobbs, Adams

December 16th, 2023 at 2:48pm CST by Ely Allen

The outcome for the Cardinals‘ 2023 season was pretty much already decided by the time the team finally was able to return quarterback Kyler Murray to the roster. Murray has now missed 18 games over the past three years, and even when he’s been available, Murray has a 5-10 record during the most recent two seasons.

Still, Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing has full confidence in Murray as a franchise quarterback in Arizona, according to Bob McManaman of the Arizona Republic. Petzing, who worked with Kirk Cousins during his tenure in Minnesota, points towards Murray’s first three years in the NFL, which resulted in an Offensive Rookie of the Year award and two Pro Bowl selections in the years following.

Petzing claims that, if it were up to him, he wouldn’t look at drafting a quarterback in the first round with one of their two Day 1 picks this April. Unfortunately for Petzing, it’s not necessarily up to him. With the recent major injury to Murray and his lack of success since the 2021 season, the rest of the team brass may deem it necessary to bring in a Day 1 passer to expand their options.

Here are a couple of other rumors coming out of the NFC West, starting with another note out of Phoenix:

When Arizona traded quarterback Joshua Dobbs to Minnesota along with a seventh-round pick, there were conditions in place that would allow for the Cardinals to get that pick back if Dobbs met certain milestones. Well, according to Howard Balzer of PHNX, despite Dobbs recently being benched in favor of Nick Mullens, the fact that Dobbs started four games for the Vikings will send Arizona’s seventh-round pick back to the Cardinals.
In a recent Q&A with Michael-Shawn Dugar of The Athletic, Dugar addressed the possibility of Seattle moving on from former All-Pro safety Jamal Adams after this season. While that seems like a real possibility with massive cap hits of $26.9MM and $27.9MM over the next two years and Adams’ recent drop in quality of play, it wouldn’t benefit the team as much as you might think. Releasing or trading Adams would result is a charge of $20.8MM in dead money for the Seahawks while only saving $6.08MM in cap space. Designating the move as a post-June 1 release would spread the dead money over the 2024 and 2025 seasons and increase the cap savings for 2024 to $16.5MM, but that still holds quite a heavy cost. Dugar believes that Adams may receive the benefit of the doubt, given the organization knows that he’s been limited with a knee injury. The high costs with that benefit of the doubt may be enough to keep Adams in green and navy for a couple more years.

Latest On Cardinals’ Quarterback Plan

November 10th, 2023 at 10:08pm CST by Sam Robinson

Kyler Murray‘s long-awaited return will commence in Week 10. The Cardinals used up Murray’s three-week return-to-practice window, giving the former Pro Bowler effectively a midseason training camp to work in Drew Petzing‘s system. That run-up may be important to how the organization proceeds at quarterback in 2024.

Moving parts exist here, given the Cardinals’ 2024 draft placement at this season’s midpoint. But the Cardinals want to see how Murray functions in their new play-caller’s system before making a determination about the longer-term future, ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano notes.

The Cards are 1-8, but Petzing was able to coax some productive performances from Josh Dobbs, who had arrived just before the season via the Browns trade. Arizona ranks 27th in offensive DVOA, with Clayton Tune‘s disastrous outing in Cleveland making a notable impact on the team’s overall numbers. Exiting their 58-yard offensive showing against the Browns, the Cards rank 31st in passing. Petzing’s system — which came from Kevin Stefanski‘s Browns attack — is seen by some around the league as one that could boost Murray’s stock, The Athletic’s Jeff Howe adds (subscription required). That said, the dual-threat QB the Browns added — Deshaun Watson — has not exactly taken to it during his early run in Ohio.

Murray, 26, has received an extensive buildup period upon returning from his ACL tear. He is nearly 11 months removed from it. Theories about the Cardinals keeping Murray inactive as they determine their future, which could include Drake Maye or Caleb Williams, ended up unfounded. But Murray’s showing stands to impact how the team proceeds next year, regardless of Jonathan Gannon‘s interest in keeping Murray as long as he is the HC.

The Cardinals could be in position to either draft one of the top two QBs or follow in the Bears’ footsteps and auction the pick to accelerate a rebuild that would, in the latter scenario, include Murray as the centerpiece. The Texans have improved to the point it looks unlikely they will land a top-five draft slot for a fourth straight year; Houston traded its 2024 first-rounder to Arizona to move up for Will Anderson in April. It would stand to reason Murray being active will hurt the Cardinals’ chances of securing a top-two pick in the ’24 draft, but the Cardinals’ power structure wants to see the former No. 1 overall pick in this new system to collect more information.

Murray could conceivably restore some of his trade value by staying healthy upon return. But Howe adds that his contract — five years, $230.5MM ($103.3MM fully guaranteed) — is not seen as tradeable. It would cost the Cardinals a record-setting (for now, as Russell Wilson‘s contract remains on the Broncos’ cap sheet) $46MM in dead money if he were traded before June 1. The Cards would owe Murray an $11.9MM guarantee on March 17 — Day 5 of the 2023 league year — if he is still on the roster; that money covers part of his 2025 salary. The year-out guarantee would stand to drive an early trade, but it would be punitive for the Cardinals. And a shortage of teams, Murray’s flashes in the past notwithstanding, would be in line to take on that contract.

Arizona paying part of Murray’s deal could facilitate a better return, but an executive told Howe a Murray release could also be in play — in the event the Cardinals commit to drafting another QB — due to a lack of trade interest. Even in a post-June 1 scenario, the Cardinals would be hit with a $48.3MM dead-money bill in 2024 by cutting the QB they extended in July 2022. A QB-needy team not in position to nab Williams or Maye may also be interested in Murray, though the return would not approach what the Texans received for Watson last year.

The fork-in-the-road moment the Cardinals may soon face will be a storyline to monitor as Murray resumes play. They already dealt Dobbs to clear out a spot, doing so after Gannon had told the media the journeyman would start against the Browns in Week 9. Dobbs took it a step further this week, indicating Gannon informed him he would not be traded.

“Went to sleep, woke up Tuesday morning with a text from my agent saying, ‘Hey, you could be traded today because it’s the trade deadline,” Dobbs said on his Torchbearers podcast (via Yardbarker). “When I had the meeting with [Gannon] in Arizona, he looked at me in the face and he said, ‘You’re not being traded. You’re not being released. You’re going to be here in Arizona.”

After Gannon confirmed the Cardinals’ course change on Oct. 30, the team pulled the trigger on the Dobbs trade hours before the Oct. 31 deadline. The Cardinals sent Dobbs and a conditional seventh-round pick to the Vikings for a 2024 sixth-rounder. Dobbs, who made eight starts as a Cardinal, will start again for the Vikings in Week 10. It is not uncommon to see coaches and GMs backtrack on previous claims as trade rumors circulate, and it is also possible Gannon intended to start Dobbs once again but ended up being overruled.

The 28-year-old passer, after replacing a concussed Jaren Hall, piloted the Vikings to an upset win in Atlanta despite barely knowing Kevin O’Connell‘s system. Tune is now positioned as Murray’s backup, but the next two months will provide some answers about Arizona’s post-2023 QB direction.

Cardinals QB Kyler Murray To Start Week 10

November 10th, 2023 at 10:47am CST by Ben Levine

NOVEMBER 10: Gannon confirmed on Friday that Murray will indeed get the nod in Week 10, making the matchup against the Falcons an important first step in the evaluation process for Arizona’s new brain trust. In addition to Murray, the Cardinals could have running back James Conner in the lineup as well. Gannon added that the latter is “trending in the right direction” to be able to suit up. Conner was designated for return earlier this week, and he will need to be activated no later than Saturday to play against Atlanta.

NOVEMBER 6: The Cardinals are expecting Kyler Murray to be under center this weekend. Coach Jonathan Gannon told reporters that Murray will be serving as the QB1 during this week’s practice, and if all goes well, the franchise quarterback will start on Sunday against the Falcons.

Either way, Murray will be activated from the physically unable to perform list on Wednesday. After returning to practice in October, the 21-day window to activate Murray from PUP was set to expire this week.

Following the Cardinals’ decision to trade fill-in Joshua Dobbs at the deadline, there was hope that Murray would be ready for Week 9. Instead, the team rolled with rookie Clayton Tune against the Browns yesterday. The results weren’t pretty; Tune passed for only 58 yards, had three turnovers, and was sacked seven times.

While Murray is expected to be back this weekend, Gannon admitted that the quarterback might not look like his old self. It’s been about 11 months since Murray last saw the field for a regular-season game, and the quarterback has spent the better part of a year rehabbing from a torn ACL. As a result, it might take a bit for him to shake off the rust.

“We have to be willing to understand it might not look like Kyler,” Gannon said (via the team’s website). “I think he has a good expectation of that, the coaches have a good expectation of that. I know this, he’s going to come out there, play his game and help us win.”

After earning a pair of Pro Bowls and guiding Arizona to 17 wins between the 2020 and 2021 seasons, the quarterback struggled a bit in 2022. While he had a career-low 1.8 percent interception rate, he was also connecting on a career-low 215 passing yards per game. With Kliff Kingsbury now out of the picture, it will be interesting to see what Gannon and co. can get out of the franchise QB.

Speaking of, the Cardinals may have been willing to bail on Murray prior to the trade deadline. Dianna Russini of The Athletic believes that the front office would have been willing to hear offers on the quarterback, but Murray’s contract makes a trade too problematic. Murray inked a five-year, $230.5MM extension ($160MM guaranteed) with the Cardinals during the 2022 offseason.

Cardinals Activate QB Kyler Murray

November 7th, 2023 at 3:10pm CST by Sam Robinson

Expected to make his return to action in Week 10, Kyler Murray is now officially back on the Cardinals’ 53-man roster. The team used the full three-week practice window but activated Murray just before the deadline.

Murray suffered an ACL tear and meniscus damage in December 2022, and the Cardinals changed regimes during his rehab process. Jonathan Gannon has routinely praised Murray, and with the Cardinals rebuilding, the team has taken a methodical approach to redeploying him. It appears that re-emergence is imminent, however, with Murray all but certain to start against the Falcons in Week 10.

With Murray coming back from the reserve/PUP list, he will not count against the Cardinals’ IR activations. Though, at 1-8, the Cards’ activation number is not exactly a pressing matter. The team gained just 58 total yards against the Browns — the team’s fewest in a game since 1955 — with fifth-round rookie Clayton Tune overmatched against an elite Cleveland pass defense. Murray being on his way back will help Arizona’s offense, though it is worth wondering the team’s overall plans with the dual-threat talent.

After a frisky start, the Cardinals are where most expected them to be: in the running for the No. 1 overall pick. With the Texans looking likely to see their draft slot land outside the top three for the first time since 2020, the Cardinals’ only avenue toward a top-five pick looks to be via their own selection. Murray could impede that path, but Gannon has repeatedly said the fifth-year passer is in this regime’s plans post-2023. If that is the case, seeing Murray develop in OC Drew Petzing‘s offense now would give the Cardinals a good onramp toward the 2024 offseason program.

The Cardinals declared Murray fully healthy last month, which would line up with his rehab timeline. Murray went down Dec. 12, 2022. His return will come 11 months later. That sits behind some recent quarterbacks who recovered from ACL tears, but each injury is different. And, again, it is not like the Cardinals had a playoff spot in mind with regard to Murray’s timetable. Despite speculation of the team drafting a quarterback in 2024, Murray will not be held out for the entire season. This will create an interesting backdrop for the Cardinals, who were in a rebuild when they drafted Murray first overall in 2019.

Arizona’s offense will look a bit different with Murray compared to its 2022 iteration. The team drafted Paris Johnson in April — after rumors Murray was a fan of the Ohio State tackle — and released DeAndre Hopkins in May. Zach Ertz is back on IR, while James Conner is on the injured list as well. Though, Conner is eligible to return this week. The team still has Murray college teammate Marquise Brown on the roster, despite being a perceived seller at the deadline. Brown is in a contract year, but he will finish it in the desert.

Murray, 26, earned original-ballot Pro Bowl nods in 2020 and ’21. He missed time with ankle and hamstring injuries in 2021 and ’22, and although the former MLB top-10 draftee elevated a largely Hopkins-less Cardinals team to the playoffs during his third season, last year brought a significant step back. A woeful playoff performance preceded a bumpy ride toward an extension, one that included (and then didn’t) the oft-discussed homework clause. Friction with Kliff Kingsbury transpired before Murray’s injury, and his numbers dipped after the quality 2020 and ’21 showings. Murray will attempt to begin a bounce-back effort under Gannon and Petzing.

The Cardinals have Tune in place as their backup moving forward, having gone through a complicated QB year. The team has ditched two-year Murray backup Colt McCoy and released David Blough late this summer. Arizona acquired and then traded Josh Dobbs, who resurfaced in a big way in Minnesota in Week 9. Jeff Driskel is back on the team’s practice squad, returning and residing as the team’s de facto third-stringer.

Cardinals To Start Clayton Tune In Week 9

November 4th, 2023 at 3:05pm CST by Ben Levine

3:05pm: Not only will Murray not start this weekend, he will also not be activated from injured reserve today by the league’s 4:00pm deadline, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. There’s really no need to activate him if the Cardinals feel comfortable moving forward with Tune tomorrow, but with Murray’s 21-day practice window closing in the coming week, the clock is certainly ticking. If Murray isn’t activated this week, he will be forced to spend the remainder of the year on IR.

Backing up Tune tomorrow will be veteran backup quarterback Jeff Driskel, who was re-signed to the practice squad this week. The standard gameday elevation has not yet been announced but is expected with Tune currently standing as the sole quarterback on the active roster.

8:52am: Kyler Murray‘s return won’t come this weekend. Cardinals fifth-round rookie quarterback Clayton Tune is expected to get the start tomorrow against the Browns, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

The Cardinals traded Murray’s fill-in, Joshua Dobbs, earlier this week, an indication that the former first-overall pick was on the brink of playing. After being sidelined for the first half of the season while recovering from a torn ACL, Murray returned to practice last month, opening his 21-day window to be activated. As ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler points out, that activation window closes next week.

The team intended to take their quarterback decision down to the wire, with coach Jonathan Gannon telling reporters that he wanted to see how each of the players looked during Friday’s practice. While Gannon acknowledged that Murray has been pushing to return, the Cardinals wanted this to be an organizational decision. Per ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss, the decision makers included Murray, Gannon, general manager Monti Ossenfort, and offensive coordinator Drew Petzing, with owner Michael Bidwill also being kept in the loop.

“[Murray’s] told me he is ready — and I’m not even going to tell you when he told me he is ready — but he knows he needs to do certain things and keep stacking good days and keep getting reps and playing the position to be ready to play,” Gannon said yesterday (via Weinfuss).

While Murray continues to recover, the Cardinals will temporarily turn to Tune, a fifth-round pick out of Houston. The prospect put himself on the NFL map during the 2021 and 2022 seasons, tossing a combined 7o touchdowns vs. 20 interceptions. Dobbs played all of the snaps at QB for the Cardinals this season, although Tune did complete a single four-yard pass on a fake punt.

As ESPN’s Field Yates notes, Tune will be one of many QB changes in Week 9, with the Cardinals joining the Raiders (Aidan O’Connell), Vikings (Jaren Hall), Falcons (Taylor Heinicke), Giants (Daniel Jones), and Browns (Deshaun Watson) among the teams replacing their Week 8 starters. Further, Tune will become the ninth rookie QB to start a game this season; as Schefter notes, this already ties the full-season record for rookie starts.

Cardinals To Bench Josh Dobbs; Kyler Murray Week 9 Return In Play

October 30th, 2023 at 4:51pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Cardinals may end up starting at least three quarterbacks for a second straight season, but Kyler Murray‘s extended onramp complicates matters for the NFC West team. One issue will be resolved following Week 8; the Cardinals are set to bench Josh Dobbs.

Jonathan Gannon said Monday the Cardinals will bench Dobbs for their Week 9 matchup against the Browns, with Clayton Tune now in the picture to start. That said, Gannon has not ruled out Murray returning Sunday, Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com tweets. Following the Cards’ Week 8 loss to the Ravens, Gannon said Dobbs would receive another start. But after meeting with the three QBs Monday morning, the rookie HC has changed his mind. It will be either a Tune cameo or Murray’s long-awaited return against the Browns.

While Murray is clearly close, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports Tune is likely to receive the call for the Cards’ Cleveland trip. With the Browns ranking first in pass defense, this promises to be a difficult spot for the fifth-round rookie. But the Cardinals are in a clear rebuild, having never been expected to vie for a playoff spot this season. Tune will receive an early audition for the presumptive role of Murray’s long-term backup.

Murray has until Nov. 8 to be activated, but after deeming the two-time Pro Bowler fully healthy, Gannon (via NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo) has seen the fifth-year passer resemble his pre-injury version in practice. If the Cardinals are moving Dobbs out of the picture, a Murray activation could be imminent. Murray has not played since Week 14 of last season, when he suffered ACL and meniscus injuries. The Cardinals have given the dual-threat talent an extended runup to his fifth season — and first under Gannon and OC Drew Petzing.

Had the Cardinals profiled as a contending team coming into the season, Murray likely would have debuted already. But they are in a rebuild and sitting 1-7. Murray patience has made sense through this lens, and Rapoport adds a Week 10 return is the more likely scenario.

The Cardinals took Tune at No. 139 this year, drafting the ex-Houston Cougar as part of a Day 2 trade with the Lions. As Detroit moved back into Round 3 for defensive tackle Brodric Martin, Arizona continued to stockpile picks. The team had already traded back in Rounds 1 and 2, allowing the Texans and Titans respective access to Will Anderson and Will Levis. Months before Dobbs arrived via trade, Tune came to the desert as part of what was then a crowded depth chart. But Colt McCoy, David Blough and Jeff Driskel are no longer with the Cardinals. Tune has operated as Dobbs’ backup throughout this season.

Tune boasted an impressive stat line in 2022, throwing 40 touchdown passes and just 10 interceptions at the then-American Athletic Conference school. Over his final two years with the Cougars, Tune posted a 70-20 TD-INT ratio and averaged at least 8.8 yards per attempt in each slate. Tune should be expected to give way to Murray soon, but this will present an early opportunity. Should Murray return as the starter in Week 10, the Cards will have started seven QBs from 2022-23. McCoy, Blough and Trace McSorley started games last season.

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