Journeyman QB out to show Arizona Cardinals he's worth keeping around

Quite a few eyebrows were raised back in April when the Arizona Cardinals signed free agent Jeff Driskel to a one-year contract. The move didn't seem to be needed, especially when you consider the fact that the club already had a trio of veteran passers on the roster. How would Driskel fit into a Cards quarterbacks room that already featured Kyler Murray, Colt McCoy, and David Blough?

A couple of weeks after Driskel was acquired, the team's QB situation became even more muddled. During the fifth round of this past April's NFL Draft, general manager Monti Ossenfort added yet another signal-caller to the mix. Clayton Tune, an intriguing youngster out of the University of Houston, has already been turning heads during his three months with the Cardinals.

Murray's ongoing recovery from last season's knee injury has created a unique opportunity for Driskel and his comrades. Most pundits believe that Arizona will need a fill-in starter for an undetermined amount of time. At the moment, the coaching staff has yet to reveal who the stand-in for Murray will be.

McCoy figures to have the inside track on the job. Over the past two campaigns, the 36-year-old has compiled a 3-3 record as the Cards starter. During a professional career that began back in 2010, McCoy has logged 56 appearances (36 starts) in stints with the Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers, Washington Commanders, New York Giants, and the Redbirds.

The Arizona Cardinals are holding an intriguing competition at quarterback

The 6 foot 1, 205 pound Blough has amassed an 0-7 record as a starter in the National Football League. Last fall, the 27-year-old came out on the losing end of both of his starts with the Cardinals. Blough spent the first three years of his pro career with the Detroit Lions, and came to the desert last December following a three-month stay on the Minnesota Vikings practice squad.

There's a lot of excitement surrounding Tune, a First-team All-AAC performer with the Cougars in 2022. A large contingent of the "Red Sea" is already calling for the 24-year-old to be under center when Arizona visits the Washington Commanders in Week 1. Whether Tune will be prepared to take such a drastic step at such an early stage in his NFL career remains to be seen.

And then there's Driskel, a 30-year-old who has started games for the Cincinnati Bengals, Lions, Denver Broncos, and Houston Texans. The 6 foot 4, 235 pounder has completed 59.2% of his passes for 2,228 yards and 14 touchdowns during his 23 professional appearances (11 starts). Driskel's one and only victory as a starter came all of the way back in 2018 with the Bengals.

For a variety of reasons, Cards head coach Jonathan Gannon's initial training camp with the squad is shaping up to be a fascinating one. There will be plenty of interesting position battles, particularly at quarterback. Rest assured, that's one competition that an experienced passer like Driskel fully expects to win.

(Statistics provided by Pro Football Reference)