Cardinals Won't Name QB1 Among Josh Dobbs, Clayton Tune for 'Competitive Advantage'

The Arizona Cardinals are looking to play mind games as they enter their Week 1 matchup against the Washington Commanders.

Head Coach Jonathan Gannon said he is "not gonna name a starter" at the quarterback position for the matchup, citing a potential "competitive advantage" in the unknown.

This comes after the team placed incumbent starter Kyler Murray on the physically unable to perform list, which will keep him out until at least Week 4. Additionally, the team cut veteran Colt McCoy on Monday, per ESPN's Adam Schefter, and acquired Joshua Dobbs from the Cleveland Browns in a trade earlier this month.

Currently, the job will likely go to either Dobbs or rookie Clayton Tune.

Dobbs was acquired less than a week ago, so getting him up to speed with the system will need to be ramped up if they want him to be the one under center to start the season. However, he has more experience than Tune, with eight career regular-season appearanes (two starts).

Tune is the one who has been studying the offense for longer and has looked solid in the preseason, throwing for 353 yards and a touchdown with just one interception across three preseason games.

Dobbs is the known commodity, and that is a backup quarterback. This is a low ceiling, but a bar that is adequate for what the Cardinals need behind Murray when he eventually returns. Tune has a higher ceiling as the unknown, but hasn't taken meaningful snaps in the NFL yet and is coming from Houston, who played in the Group of Five American Athletic Conference during his time with the team.

Making the jump from sub-Power Five collegiate football to the NFL is a tall task, but so it starting for a team that acquired you just weeks before the season begins. The situation isn't ideal for the Cardinals, so while it may be in search of a "competitive advantage", it's also may be to figure out which signal-caller gives the team the best chance to win.