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Go To: FlashUpdate / August Update Main Page
| Arizona Cardinals | ||||||
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Go To: Off-season Team Review
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| Most Recent News Updates: | ||||||
| ARI -- More Details On The Cardinals QB Situation (8/29/00:05 CT) | ||||||
| ARI -- Cardinals Not Ready To Name Week 1 Starting QB (8/28/15:22 CT) | ||||||
| ARI -- Report: Dobbs Is Likely Arizona's Week 1 Starter At QB (8/28/13:56 CT) | ||||||
| ARI -- Murray To Open Season On PUP; Fellow QB McCoy Released (8/28/13:48 CT) | ||||||
| ARI -- A Closer Look At Plan At QB; McCoy Still The Presumptive Week 1 Starter (8/27/17:10 CT) | ||||||
| ARI -- Cardinals QB Situation Remains Unclear After Win Over Browns (8/26/19:258 CT) | ||||||
| ARI -- How Did Cardinals Land Josh Dobbs? (8/26/00:58 CT) | ||||||
| ARI -- Cardinals Acquire QB Dobbs In Trade With Browns (8/24/16:52 CT) | ||||||
| ARI -- Cardinals Trade S Simmons To Giants (8/24/11:11 CT) | ||||||
| ARI -- Gannon Declines To Name McCoy His Week 1 Starter (8/22/12:140 CT) | ||||||
| ARI -- Tune Hits All The Notes As Runner; Ingram Impresses (8/20/00:06 CT) | ||||||
| ARI -- Are Cardinals Preparing To Tune It Up At QB? (8/15/00:34 CT) | ||||||
| ARI -- Ertz Cleared To Practice; TE On Track For Week 1 (8/14/11:02 CT) | ||||||
| ARI -- QB Situation Remains Up In The Air As Murray Rehabs (8/10/00:14 CT) | ||||||
| ARI -- Marlon Mack Suffered Season-Ending Achilles Injury (8/09/14:50 CT) | ||||||
| ARI -- Mack Forced Out Of Tuesday's Practice With Leg Injury (8/08/16:36 CT) | ||||||
| ARI -- Mack Hoping To Find A Spot Behind Conner With Ingram Ailing (8/08/00:25 CT) | ||||||
| ARI -- Initial Issues And Injuries Of Note (8/08/00:00 CT) | ||||||
Current News Updates
8/29 Following up on the ongoing story. ... The Cardinals have more clarity on their quarterback situation less than two weeks before Week 1. Kyler Murray won't be activated off the physically unable to perform list before today's 4 p.m. ET deadline, HC Jonathan Gannon said Monday. Starting the season on the PUP list means Murray will miss at least the first four games of the regular season. Once he's activated, he'll have 21 days to practice and be put on the 53-man roster, otherwise he'll have to spend the entire season on the PUP list. The Cardinals also released quarterback Colt McCoy on Monday, a day before teams are required to narrow their roster to 53 players. The move comes four days after they traded for quarterback Josh Dobbs. McCoy, the 36-year-old who signed with the Cardinals in 2021, was the first-team quarterback all spring, training camp and preseason while Arizona waited for Murray to return from ACL surgery. With McCoy's release and Murray not being available for Week 1 against the Washington Commanders, the Cardinals will likely choose their starter from Dobbs and fifth-round pick Clayton Tune. Gannon refused to name a starter on Monday between Dobbs and Tune, saying Arizona has a "pretty good plan in place" to decide who will be the first-team quarterback. Gannon wants to evaluate both quarterbacks in practice over the next two weeks before settling on one. Even then, though, he won't announce the starter. "I think it's a competitive advantage for us going to Washington," Gannon said. "But we'll know who the starter is." According to ESPN.com's Josh Weinfuss, Tune ran the second-team offense for the majority of the spring, all of camp and the preseason. Dobbs, who came to Arizona from the Browns in a trade on Thursday, has a history working with current Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing and quarterbacks coach Israel Woolfork from their time last season in Cleveland. The Cardinals had looked at signing Dobbs this past offseason, so they had already done their homework on him, Gannon said. When the opportunity to trade for him arose last week, they jumped at the chance. Adding Dobbs gives the Cardinals a "mobile guy that understands the system" who can also make throws, and play in and out of the pocket, which is what Arizona was looking for, Gannon said. Even though Gannon said that "it's never easy for a new guy coming to a new team," he's comfortable with Dobbs potentially being the Week 1 starter without having played a game snap with the Cardinals. That familiarity with Petzing's scheme can be "very valuable," Gannon said. Asked whether the Cardinals have made a decision whether or not to have a third quarterback active on game day, Gannon said: "We're still sorting through it."8/28 The Cardinals won’t be naming a starting quarterback before facing the Commanders in Week 1. In a press conference on Monday afternoon, HC Jonathan Gannon cited “competitive advantage” when saying why he will not announce if Josh Dobbs or fifth-round pick Clayton Tune will start the season opener. The Cardinals released veteran Colt McCoy on Monday and Kyler Murray is going to remain on the PUP list into the regular season. Gannon said he has a good idea about which way he’ll go, but that he isn’t going to share it. “I think we’ve got a plan in place, but I want to see them both play football still. This week we got some work, the following week we got some work but I feel good where we’re at,” Gannon said. ... The Cardinals traded for Dobbs late last week, so his edge in experience over Tune is mitigated by Tune’s experience in the Cardinals offense. Whichever way they decide to go, Gannon made it clear that the move was made because the team believes they made the moves that were the best of the overall team. “Just like with every decision, we look at the full body of work,” Gannon said. “Evaluate our guys, production goes into that and felt like it was in the best interest of the team moving forward with the guys we have in the room. ...” Stay tuned. 8/28 Following up on the previous item. ... According to ESPN's Addam Schefter, Josh Dobbs figures to be the leader to become Arizona’s opening-day starting QB. The Cardinals tried to sign him in free agency. They traded for him last week. And he know the Cardinals’ system from having played under Arizona OC Drew Petzing last season in Cleveland. ... We'll continue to follow up. 8/28 The Cardinals do not plan to activate QB Kyler Murray off the Physically Unable to Perform List by Tuesday’s 4 pm ET deadline, which means he then would ineligible to be active during the first four games of the season. Adding to the intrigue, the Cardinals have released veteran QB Colt McCoy, league sources tell ESPN's Adam Schefter. Either veteran Josh Dobbs, whom Arizona acquired last week, or rookie fifth-round pick QB Clayton Tune will start opening day at Washington. ... We'll be posting complete moves as they're reported through Tuesday's 4 p.m. ET deadline on our NFL Roster Cuts page. 8/27 According to ESPN.com's Josh Weinfuss, it's unlikely Kyler Murray will be activated off the physically unable to perform list by Week 1. If that's the case, he won't be on the 53-man roster to start the season and will have to miss at least the first four games. Until he's back, Colt McCoy is the presumptive starter and Dobbs was acquired to be an insurance policy for McCoy. Josh Dobbs' experience with offensive coordinator Drew Petzing will allow him to catch up on what Arizona is running quicker than if another quarterback had come in. With three quarterbacks now able to dress on Sundays, Clayton Tune will have to be at the ready. ... As for the receiving corps, Weinfuss confirms Marquise Brown will assume the WR1 role (now that DeAndre Hopkins is gone) and will be part of a wide receivers room that has a lot of speed but not a lot of height. Michael Wilson, the rookie out of Stanford, has impressed throughout the offseason and has been getting a significant amount of reps with the first team, which should help him be a factor on offense from the jump. In addition, with the Cardinals using quite a bit of 12 personnel under new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing, the tight ends will be a key cog in Arizona's offense. Zach Ertz has been cleared to return from ACL surgery to his left knee last year but is coming along slowly and Trey McBride has been hampered by injuries during camp. It's a situation worth watching in coming days. 8/26 According to NFL.com's Eric Edholm the Cardinals' QB plan remains a mystery after Saturday's win over the Browns. With Kyler Murray still injured, how the Cards plan to populate the QB room this season remains to be seen after the acquisition of Josh Dobbs. Colt McCoy and Dobbs didn't play Saturday against the Vikings, leaving fifth-rounder Clayton Tune and David Blough to ride out the preseason. Tune started and was up and down, taking an opening-drive sack and losing a fumble at his own 5-yard line. Tune did lead a strong field-goal drive before Blough took over, completing an up-and-down preseason. At one point, Tune appeared to be a candidate to start early in place of Murray, and though he should still have a role in Arizona, he's shown that he's not entirely game-ready just yet. ... Corey Clement, competing with Keaontay Ingram to be the No. 2 running back behind James Conner with Marlon Mack out for the season, rushed 14 times for 79 yards for the Cardinals (2-1). ... Matt Prater made two field goals for the Cardinals, including the go-ahead kick with 6:20 left, but he pulled a 46-yard try wide left and also shanked an extra point off the left upright. ... The Cardinals open the regular season at the Washington Commanders on Sept. 10. ... You can access complete stats for Saturday's Week 3 exhibition finale via our exclusive Fantasy BoxScore. 8/26 Just hours after Browns coach Kevin Stefanski declared that Josh Dobbs was his No. 2 quarterback, the Browns traded Dobbs to the Cardinals. So what happened during those hours? What happened, according to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, is that the Cardinals called the Browns out of the blue, surprised them with a trade offer, and the Browns quickly decided that the fifth-round draft pick the Cardinals were offering for Dobbs and a seventh-rounder was good enough to part with Dobbs and make Dorian Thompson-Robinson their backup quarterback. In the process, the Browns also reversed course on quarterback Kellen Mond, keeping him on the roster after initially saying they were going to put him on waivers. The Cardinals’ interest in Dobbs may have been driven by Arizona offensive coordinator Drew Petzing, who was the Browns’ quarterbacks coach last season. Dobbs was with the Browns for most of the 2022 offseason and most of the regular season, although he was waived when Deshaun Watson returned from his suspension and finished the year starting for the Titans. With Kyler Murray out because of last year’s torn ACL and Colt McCoy dealing with an elbow injury, the Cardinals may have felt that none of their other quarterbacks is ready to start Week One, and Dobbs knows Petzing’s offense well enough that he could arrive in Arizona now and be ready to start the season opener in just over two weeks. So a quick move was made, one that could have Dobbs starting for the Cardinals in Week 1 and Thompson-Robinson one Watson injury away from starting for the Browns. 8/24 The Browns are sending QB Josh Dobbs and a 2024 seventh-round pick to the Cardinals for a 2024 fifth-round pick, sources tell NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. Dobbs was with Cardinals OC Drew Petzing in Cleveland, so he knows the offense. With Kyler Murray still recovering from a torn ACL, Arizona hasn't named a starter and it's now Dobbs competing with Colt McCoy and rookie Clayton Tune for the job. 8/24 Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the Cardinals have agreed to trade 2020 first-round pick Isaiah Simmons, currently a safety, to the Giants. The Giants will be sending a 2024 seventh-round pick back to Arizona in exchange for Simmons. 8/22 Kyler Murray’s ongoing recovery from last year’s torn ACL has left Colt McCoy as the likely starter for the first weeks of the regular season, but HC Jonathan Gannon isn’t saying if that will be the case. “When we need to name the starters we’ll name the starters,” Gannon said. “He’s doing a good job. I thought he operated well. I think he’s getting more and more comfortable with what we are asking him to do. He’s obviously played a lot of football but I like where his game is trending. ...” Fifth-round pick Clayton Tune is the next quarterback listed on the depth chart with David Blough and Jeff Driskel rounding out the group. How they’ll stack up come September 10 is something Gannon and company are keeping under their hats a little while longer. 8/20 According to Darren Urban of the Cardinals official website, if Clayton Tune has any chance to supplant Colt McCoy as Cardinals quarterback while Kyler Murray is out, his legs could be the factor. Tune, the fifth-round rookie, isn't Kyler-esque in his mobility, but his legs -- particularly his ability to avoid the rush and turn a probable sack into something positive -- was hard not to notice Saturday night, although the Cardinals were routed by the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs. Tune led the Cardinals on their only two scoring drives of the night, coming in after McCoy was in 15 plays and completed 5-of-8 passes for only 25 yards. Tune finished 12-of-24 for 133 yards, along with six rushes for 35 yards. He lost two touchdown passes, one on a penalty and another when Greg Dortch was ruled down at the half-yard line on replay. His numbers don't factor in the negatives he avoided -- he took zero sacks and didn't turn the ball over -- and that is something offensive coordinator Drew Petzing will certainly do. ... Meanwhile, providing some excitement for Arizona in an otherwise nondescript showing was second-year running back Keaontay Ingram, who showed great burst and an keen ability to read his blocks. Ingram logged 28 yards rushing off seven carries, scoring the Cards' first TD and adding two catches for 20 yards receiving. 8/15 According to NFL.com's Gregg Rosenthal, rookie fifth-rounder Clayton Tune's bid to unseat Colt McCoy as the Arizona Cardinals' starting quarterback didn't make any progress Friday. As Rosenthal suggested, Tune didn't look out of place versus the Broncos and hung in against pressure, mostly making quick decisions. But he was inaccurate too often on some simple throws to the outside for a player with his skill set. His interception was bad luck, coming when Rondale Moore fell on a route. Tune played a ton, a sign the Cardinals want to see what they have in him. He'll have to show improvement the next two weeks for a shot to play in the regular season, even if it's as McCoy's in-season replacement. It's worth noting longtime Cardinals website reporter Darren Urban believes Tune still has a shot, even if he's the underdog. 8/13 TE Zach Ertz is ready to get back on the field. Ertz has not practiced at training camp as he works his way back from a torn ACL, but that is set to change this week. Mike Garafolo of NFL Media reports that Ertz has been cleared for full football activity. Assuming Ertz has no setbacks upon his return to work, Monday’s clearance will put him on track to play for the Cardinals in their opener against the Commanders on September 10. 8/10 With Kyler Murray rehabbing his torn ACL, NFL.com's Gregg Rosenthal advised readers the Cardinals' quarterback situation is "exceedingly weird." Four of them -- Colt McCoy, Clayton Tune, Jeff Driskel and David Blough -- have received first-team reps. Rosenthal added: "There's a chance that Tune, a fifth-round rookie, could start games with a strong month." 8/09 Following up on a previous item. ... RB Marlon Mack is done for the season with an Achilles injury. 8/08 Marlon Mack left Tuesday's practice due to a left leg injury, Tyler Drake of ArizonaSports.com reports. As CBSSports.com notes, Mack sustained the injury during 7-on-7 drills when he appeared to lose his footing. Tuesday's session marked his third since joining the Cardinals last Friday. With Keaontay Ingram also tending to an abdominal injury at the moment, Corey Clement, Ty'Son Williams and Emari Demercado are the team's healthy running backs behind starter James Conner. 8/08 According to the team's official website, Marlon Mack burst through the line in one of his initial carries of 11-on-11 Saturday (8/5), his first practice with the Cardinals after the veteran running back signed a one-year contract the day before. His new teammates had all been through 10 days of camp, and a heavy week. Mack looked like a guy who had yet to tax his body. While coach Jonathan Gannon insisted again Saturday no player has yet to earn a starting job, it would be a titanic upset not to see James Conner as the starting running back. Behind him, though, there is a battle, and depth in the running back room is an issue. Corey Clement has been running second-string, but Keaontay Ingram has missed most of camp with an undisclosed injury, and Ty'Son Williams left for the locker room with an athletic trainer in the early stages of practice Saturday and did not return. With the preseason opener Friday against the Broncos – for whom Mack played last season – the Cardinals need running backs. Gannon and Mack know each other from when both were in Indianapolis. Mack isn't making predictions. He was a 1,000-yard rusher in 2019; in the three seasons since he has played in just 14 games with 48 total rushing attempts. Fantasy managers shouldn't look too far past Conner at this point. 8/08 A couple of obvious issues to start here: A new coaching staff led by defensive-minded head coach Jonathan Gannon is first and foremost. Drew Petzing comes from the Browns staff, where he most recently served as quarterbacks coach. He'll face the task of rectifying an offense that took a massive step back during a surprising 4-13 season. The unit ranked 21st in points scored and 22nd in yards, both its worst marks since Kyler Murray's rookie campaign. Of course, Murray and Zach Ertz are both coming off torn ACLs and opened camp on the PUP list. Murray was injured last December, so expecting a quick return seems like a reach. Still, both Murray and Ertz, who was hurt in Week 10, claim they're aiming for Week 1. Fantasy managers should set more realistic expectations, but we'll continue to watch for more on both players in coming days. Colt McCoy is expected to fill in at QB although rookie Clayton Tune is worth watching; Trey McBride will get more opportunities at TE with Ertz rehabbing.
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 Team Review
Grade: C-
In 2021, the Cardinals were an 11-win playoff team. But after handing quarterback Kyler Murray a $230 million contract extension, the bottom fell out -- Murray tore his ACL, the team went 4-13 and now the Redbirds enter 2023 rife with questions. The biggest of those questions is Murray’s surgically repaired knee. New head coach Jonathan Gannon told reporters that while Murray’s rehab is progressing well, there’s still a long way to go. “He’s doing good,” Gannon said. “You can ask him about the rehab, but I know he’s making strides. He’s a long way away, but we don’t play for a long time, either. So, I feel good where he’s at.” Two years ago, Murray’s scrambling ability helped lead to a top-5 fantasy finish in terms of points per game. But even before the injury last season, Murray had dipped outside the top 12 in fantasy points per game. Given how late in the season Murray went down, there’s no telling when he’ll be ready to return -- and given how reliant his fantasy production is on his mobility, his fantasy prospects are one of the great unknowns on 2023. The uncertainty surrounding Murray’s health extends to his wide receivers after the release of DeAndre Hopkins in late May. The move elevates Marquise Brown to the status of No. 1 wide receiver. Brown has flashed that sort of ability at times, but he’s posted just one 1,000-yard season in his career and missed five games in 2022. Similarly, veteran tight end Zach Ertz was fourth in PPR points over the last 10 weeks of the season. But Ertz is 32 and recovering from a serious injury of his own. Behind that duo, there isn’t a lot -- Rondale Moore and Greg Dortch aren’t keeping opposing defensive coordinators awake nights. So, while Hopkins’ release may have made sense from a financial standpoint, from a football one it leaves the Cardinals’ passing attack in something of a lurch. Frankly, the most stable aspect of the Arizona offense is probably running back James Conner. The 28-year-old hasn’t tallied gaudy running totals, failing to hit 800 rushing yards in either season in Arizona. Conner also hasn’t averaged more than 4.3 yards per carry in a season in Arizona. But thanks to his skills as a receiver (83 catches the past two years) Conner has surpassed 1,000 career yards both seasons, and his 26 total touchdowns have kept him inside the top 20. Conner’s not the sexiest fantasy RB2 pick, and the questions facing the Arizona offense impact him as well. Depending on the news over the summer and the discounts some Cardinals could offer, Arizona players are potentially going to win (or lose) a lot of fantasy leagues in 2023. | ||||||
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2023 Off-Season News & Views
Click here for Complete set of News & Views
Click here for earlier off-season items |
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