Ranking all five quarterbacks on the Arizona Cardinals roster for 2023

With five quarterbacks on the roster for 2023, the Arizona Cardinals will be forced to make some tough decisions when cuts roll around.

The Arizona Cardinals have five quarterbacks vying for what will probably be just three open spots. We know incumbent starter Kyler Murray and rookie Clayton Tune will be there, even if the latter begins his NFL career on the practice squad, something that I’m beginning to doubt will occur. 

But what about the other open slot, or slots if Tune is indeed on the practice squad? Who has the best respective chance to sneak their way onto the 53-man squad? Let’s settle the debate by ranking who stands where going into the summer. 

Where do the Arizona Cardinals quarterbacks rank?

5 - David Blough

While David Blough has more experience playing alongside a few of these players than Jeff Driskel, he’s the likely odd-man-out in the desert. Blough doesn’t fit well into an Arizona Cardinals offense designed for Kyler Murray or any dual threat quarterback, so expect him to be nothing more than a camp arm in 2023. 

4 - Jeff Driskel

Jeff Driskel gets the nod over Blough because he would fit better into any offense geared toward Kyler Murray’s strengths. And while Driskel has proven he has more than a few limitations at the NFL level, he could at least give the Cardinals serviceable play if they needed him to step up. 

3 - Colt McCoy

Colt McCoy lands at #3 mainly because he’s familiar with many skill position players on the Arizona Cardinals offense, and that alone gives him some much-needed chemistry. But we also saw how limited McCoy’s ceiling was last season when he filled in for an injured Kyler Murray even if he enjoyed a good outing against the Los Angeles Rams, so it’s safe to say he won’t take the Redbirds far if pressed into action. 

2 - Clayton Tune

You may think Clayton Tune is overrated here. But in actuality, he brings more to the Cardinals than the three veterans listed below him. No, we don’t know how good Tune will be, but Blough, Driskel, and McCoy are all backups with limited ceilings. That’s not yet the case with Tune, if it will ever be the case. 

1 - Kyler Murray

As much criticism as Kyler Murray has gotten over the past season, he has experience, productivity, and accolades to make up for it. Further, if the Arizona Cardinals are fine-tuning their offense for Murray, he could be even better this season than he was in 2020 and 2021. 

Overall, and ideally, this position group turns into the Kyler & Clayton Show, with Murray maturing and bouncing back to have an incredible season in 2023 once he’s able to return. Tune, however, won’t be willing to hand the starting job over if he can help it, though, so it will be interesting to see if these rankings, especially the top two, change throughout the season.