Jonathan Gannon deflated all the drama from the Cardinals’ starting quarterback situation in his postgame press conference following Sunday’s loss to the Ravens.
Arizona’s head coach said Joshua Dobbs would start next week in Cleveland against the Browns, meaning Kyler Murray’s return from a torn ACL will likely be slated for the Week 10 home game against the Falcons.
But it also meant that the Cardinals will not turn to rookie quarterback Clayton Tune, the fifth-round pick who has been Dobbs’ backup this season.
And while I have little expectation that Tune would come in and be a miracle worker, refusing to give him some live NFL reps for both his development and their evaluation is a short-sighted decision.
Plain and simple — even with a late-game rally on Sunday against the Ravens, Dobbs has been one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL the past month, and a benching is appropriate.
Here are his Total QBR ranks among all starting quarterbacks over the past four games:
- Week 5: Second-worst
- Week 6: Third-worst
- Week 7: Sixth-worst
- Week 8: Eighth-worst
Look, does Dobbs give you a slightly better chance to win against the Browns? Probably.
He’s a veteran who should, in theory, make fewer mistakes, and allow the Cardinals to hang around longer than if Tune comes in and plays like a deer in headlights.
But who cares? The Cardinals are early touchdown underdogs in Cleveland and have +240 moneyline odds to pull the upset with Dobbs under center, per BetMGM.
And even if they do manage to win… once again, who cares?
Arizona is 1-7 on the season, the worst record in the NFL. A victory is inconsequential, as the playoffs have been off the table for weeks.
No, the best plan would be to allow Tune to face an NFL defense this week. The Browns have a ferocious group on that side of the ball and the game-plan would need to be very simple, but the way Tune handles it could really help in deciding if he can be the backup in 2024.
Second-string signal-callers make around $4 million per year these days, so the Cardinals were smart to draft Tune and hope he can become that guy, because it would constitute some nice savings when he’s on a rookie contract.
But it would be a pretty big gamble to go into next season with him a snap away from action without having any idea how he looks against NFL competition.
Practice can tell you a lot, and I’m sure Dobbs makes way fewer mental mistakes than Tune, but in a developmental season like this it can pay off to let your young players learn on the job.
The best example of that is Trey McBride, who flourished with 10 catches for 95 yards and a touchdown on Sunday, the first game in which veteran Zach Ertz wasn’t biting into his playing time.
Tune could really, really struggle against the Browns, but that would be OK. Or maybe he pulls a Will Levis and gives the Cardinals something to be really excited about.
You don’t know if he doesn’t play, and there’s no reason to keep him sidelined on Sunday.
When Murray gets back, he is going to play every snap, save for possible garbage time on either end of a blowout.
The opportunity to get Tune some experience is dwindling, and this week is the perfect setup, because Murray is not yet ready and Dobbs is struggling.
Gannon is trying his best to win each week, and while that’s admirable, he also needs to see the forest through the trees.
Every move should be about the future now, and giving Tune a test run could help make clearer his potential value in 2024 and beyond.
Instead, the rookie will be parked on the bench as a journeyman quarterback delivers, in all likelihood, a fifth straight abysmal performance in another Cardinals loss in Week 9.
