Shortly before the 2023 season was underway, the Arizona Cardinals traded a fifth-round pick for Joshua Dobbs to presumably be the backup quarterback to Kyler Murray. However, with Dobbs playing so poorly between Weeks 5 and 7, he could find himself in danger of losing the backup spot (and current starting spot) to Clayton Tune if he sustains another rough outing during the game’s early stages tomorrow afternoon.
Since Murray is so close to taking the field for the first time in 2023, there is no chance of Clayton Tune coming in and threatening to wrestle the incumbent starting job from the former number one overall pick. But if the rookie sees time under center or in Week 9, depending on what the Cards decide with Murray, he could show us enough of a sample size to at least create a quarterback controversy for the backup job.
Arizona Cardinals could give Tune a chance tomorrow if Dobbs struggles
So far in 2023, Tune has attempted and completed just one pass, and that came on an ill-fated fake punt last week. But he also gave the Cardinals good returns over the summer, and he carried that into a decent performance in the preseason.
For a few weeks, Dobbs looked like he was a lock to be the long-term backup, but his three most recent outings have been a complete one-eighty from what we saw vs. the New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys, and San Francisco 49ers. Given how formidable the Ravens passing defense is (176.0 yards allowed per game), Dobbs will by no means have it easy.
With this game occurring in front of the home crowd, perhaps we will hear a few, “Tune,” chants if Dobbs struggles through his first few possessions. And if the Arizona Cardinals roll with Dobbs all game, then we may have seen the end of him anyway if Murray makes it back onto the field when the Cards travel to Cleveland.
(Statistics provided by Pro-Football-Reference)