Much like the rest of the NFL, the Arizona Cardinals need to invest in an ideal backup QB
When it comes to quarterback play in the NFL, teams better have a backup plan.
With three weeks to go before the start of the playoffs, the 2023 season has been brutal as it relates to starting quarterbacks going down with injuries and unsteady backups coming in to try and replace them.
In Week 15 alone, for instance, only six of the 16 games featured teams with both of their starting quarterbacks from Week 1. Four other games, meanwhile, featured each team relying strictly on backups. We’ve seen more than our share of backups this year, haven’t we?
You know, household names such as Easton Stick (Chargers) and Aidan O’Connell (Raiders), Nick Mullins (Vikings) and Jake Browning (Bengals). And who can forget Tommy DeVito (Giants) and Bailey Zappe (Patriots), let alone Josh Dobbs (Cardinals and Vikings), Tyson Bagent (Bears) and Tim Boyle (Jets)?
The point is, too many teams have lost their starting franchise quarterback, be it the Jets’ Aaron Rodgers (Achilles), the Bengals’ Joe Burrow (wrist), the Colts’ Anthony Richardson (shoulder), the Vikings’ Kirk Cousins (Achilles), the Chargers’ Justin Herbert (finger), the Browns’ Deshaun Watson (shoulder), the Giants’ Daniel Jones (knee) and more — many more.
Actually, this whole mess started a year ago when the Cardinals’ Kyler Murray tore his right ACL on a non-contact play against the Patriots. Since then, it’s been an ongoing parade to the blue, pop-up medical tent quickly followed by an extended stay on the injured reserve list.
Murray was sidelined for exactly 11 months until he finally returned on Nov. 12 to start against the visiting Falcons. Outside of a brief scare during his fifth game back on Sunday against the 49ers, when he was inadvertently kicked in the nether regions and had to momentarily exit what would become a 45-29 loss, he’s been injury-free. Though he told reporters afterward, “I don’t wish that on anybody.”
But what if it turned out to be worse than what it was and something knocked out Murray indefinitely, again?
With the roster as it is now, the Cardinals can’t afford to let their ongoing rebuilding project under first-year General Manager Monti Ossenfort and first-year coach Jonathan Gannon to ride or die with rookie backup quarterback Clayton Tune.
He’s a nice enough fellow, but anybody that watched his only start to date — a 27-0 rout by the Browns in Week 9 – when Arizona finished with just 58 total yards of offense, its lowest total in half a century, isn’t ready to see that again.
Nor should they. Not now. The Cardinals don’t owe him anything other than more time to develop in the background.
The 3-11 Cardinals might be able to get away with losing more games the rest of THIS season, but not next year. Not when the expectations are grander, and a near .500 finish, if not better, is what the fans demand and deserve in a real rebuild.
If Ossenfort and the Cardinals stick with Murray as their franchise quarterback, something that most observers in and around the team think will happen, then building around the former No. 1 overall pick becomes not only essential but pivotal. And that includes prioritizing – and landing – a capable, viable and yes, more experienced backup quarterback as necessary insurance.
Colt McCoy was fine for a time, but he proved not to be the answer behind Murray. He couldn’t move well, and he had arm issues. Josh Dobbs, the surprising late addition to the roster just before the start of this season and thrust into an emergency starting role, could be an ideal candidate to be brought back as the backup following his trade to the Vikings. He’s an unrestricted free agent and he should be a consideration for the Cardinals, even though he has had his ups and downs both in Arizona and Minnesota.
The Cardinals would be wise to keep all their options open. Seeing what backups such as veterans Gardner Minshew (Colts), Joe Flacco (Browns) and yes, even the younger Browning in Cincinnati have kept their respective teams afloat seems like the way to go.
Murray and his knee appear to be solid and trustworthy, but Ossenfort, Gannon, offensive coordinator Drew Petzing and the entire franchise can’t just wing it on an inexperienced, fifth-round pick such as Tune, even if he passed for 70 touchdowns his last two years in college at Houston.
Multiple quarterbacks will be available after this season and the Cardinals must find one. Gannon was asked what he looks for in the ideal backup, but keep in mind, the final decision might not be his.
“I would say what jumps out to me is his brain,” he said, “because when you’re one play away from going in the game and taking minimal reps – really game-plan specific reps with four days – you’ve got to be in tune to do that.
“That’s hard to do … There’s so much on his plate and physically to be able to operate in a level that you can win a game with is hard.”
Just flash back to 2014 when, despite improving to 8-1 with a victory at home against the Rams, starting quarterback Carson Palmer suffered a torn ACL. Drew Stanton, perhaps the best backup the franchise has employed in recent history, won three of the next five games, although he, too, would be lost with a knee injury.
Arizona turned to Ryan Lindley for the remainder of the season, and he went 0-3, including a disastrous loss at the Panthers in which the Cardinals could only muster 78 total yards of offense, the fewest by an NFL team in postseason history at the time.
Nobody wants to see that again, either.
Starting quarterbacks get injured. Whether it’s because of the new, 17-game, regular-season schedule, the fact that more QBs are dual-threat playmakers who run the ball often, the constant turnover in head coaching positions, poor coaching overall, or something else, it’s going to continue.
That’s why every team, including the Cardinals, needs a solid backup plan.
“It’s a violent game and the rules try to help the quarterback position, which they should,” Gannon said. “It’s the same thing as – as much as sometimes defensive guys you listen to saying, ‘Oh, well where can we hit the guy?’ – but I don’t want our quarterback getting hit like that, either.
“It’s sometimes how the ball bounces, but I know the rules are in place to try to protect those guys. I also know that they’re touching it every play and there’s a possibility to get hit every play.”
Woods, Swaim to injured reserve
The Cardinals lost two players to season-ending injuries from last week's game, and made corresponding roster moves Wednesday. Starting inside linebacker Josh Woods and backup tight end Geoff Swaim were placed on injured reserve, and the team signed tight end Travis Vokolek off the Baltimore Ravens practice squad and signed linebacker Tyreek Maddox-Williams to the active roster from the practice squad.
Swaim was carted off the sideline Sunday against San Francisco with a calf injury. Woods' injury wasn't yet specified.
The Cardinals also signed tight end John Samuel Shenker and re-signed linebacker Davion Taylor to the practice squad, releasing wide receiver Daniel Arias. Shenker finished his Auburn career as the school’s all-time leader for receptions by a tight end (68) and second in program history among tight ends with 779 receiving yards.
Injury report
Four Cardinals missed practice Wednesday, outside of Swaim and Woods. Wide receiver Marquise Brown is still hampered by a heel injury, defensive back Garrett Williams was out with a knee issue, linebacker Victor Dimukeje has a foot injury and wide receiver Greg Dortch was out with a shoulder injury.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Finding an ideal backup QB would benefit the Arizona Cardinals
