While Kyler Murray won’t start at quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, he will be available to play as soon as next week. Murray wasn’t activated from the physically unable to perform list by the 4 p.m. deadline on Saturday, so it will be Clayton Tune who gets the start in Week 9.
According to multiple reports, head coach Jonathan Gannon has decided to start Tune, the rookie out of Houston, while Jeff Driskel will serve as the primary backup for Arizona’s Week 9 matchup against the Cleveland Browns.
Tune will make his first career NFL start this Sunday after Arizona traded veteran journeyman Joshua Dobbs to the Minnesota Vikings. Tune was drafted in the fifth round (139th overall pick) of the 2023 NFL Draft.
Six rookie quarterbacks, including Tune, will start on Sunday. That means Bryce Young (Panthers), CJ Stroud (Texans), Aidan O’Connell (Raiders), Tyson Bagnent (Bears), and Jaren Hall (Vikings) will all be under center for their respective teams.
Tune and Hall are the only names above that have never started an NFL game before in their career, though, the latter made an appearance in Minnesota’s win in Week 8 after Kirk Cousins hobbled off with an Achilles injury.
Tune, who has been the backup quarterback for the first two months of the season, will step into the starting role following Dobbs’ trade to the Vikings. It’ll be a short cameo for Tune, as Murray needs to be activated by Wednesday to avoid being shut down for the season, after having his 21-day practice window opened.
[PFT]
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.