Clayton

Tune

Hardman was waived at last cuts but decided that staying with the Packers made sense. The 27-year-old will likely be elevated in Week 1 if Jayden Reed’s injury is as serious as it seems. Also joining the Packers practice squad are: QB Clayton Tune, RB Israel Abanikanda, DL Deslin Alexandre, DB Johnathan Baldwin, T Brant Banks, DL James Ester, LB Jamon Johnson, K Mark McNamee, DL Arron Mosby, WR Isaiah Neyor, WR Will Sheppard, DB Jaylin Simpson, and LB Kristian Welch.

Tune drew minimal interest from dynasty managers back in 2023, when Kyler Murray was rehabbing from a torn ACL. He will now seek clipboard duties elsewhere. The Cardinals also waived CB Ekow Boye-Doe, TE Oscar Cardenas, OL McClendon Curtis, CB Steven Gilmore, DL Patrick Jenkins, LB Vi Jones, OL Roy Mbaeteka, WR Nate McCollum, OLB Benton Whitley and released WR Andre Baccellia.

The Cardinals already roster backups Jacoby Brissett and Clayton Tune. Bringing Huntley aboard would give them another proven, if unexceptional option. He started five games for the Dolphins in 2024, completing 86-of-133 passes for 831 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions and rushing 26 times for 135 yards and two touchdowns while fumbling six times.

The Cardinals offense was rolling in Week 2, starting with some Kyler Murray magic. While he barely looked for Marvin Harrison Jr. last week, Murray threw a pair of touchdowns his way this week in the first quarter. His third touchdown was off a scramble where he extended the play and found Elijah Higgins for the score. As a rusher, Murray was impactful as well, just under 12 yards per carry on five rushes. The game got out of hand in favor of the Cardinals early, leading to Clayton Tune finishing the game, though Tune fumbled and did not attempt a pass. Murray’s dual-threat ability cements him as a QB1 option for Week 3 against the Lions.

Tune drew the start and had a passable performance before being pulled for Desmond Ridder. An injury to Ridder late in the fourth quarter forced Tune back on the field with the Cardinals already in scoring range. Unfortunately, on his first play back, Tune threw a catchable pass to Broncos linebacker Levelle Bailey, who returned it 96 yards for a touchdown. It was a brutal break for Tune, who is battling with Ridder to be the backup for Kyler Murray to open the season. Ridder didn’t fare much better throwing for 111 scoreless yards on 10-of-16 passing, but he also didn’t turn the ball over. We’ll see how this competition shakes out in the coming days, but it’s safe to say neither quarterback would have much fantasy upside if they were to be forced to start.

Tune and Desmond Ridder are in a battle to back up Kyler Murray. In two preseason games, Tune has thrown for 242 yards and one touchdown while completing 67.6 percent of his passes, while Ridder has thrown for 114 yards with a 52.6 completion percentage. Tune has also rushed for 24 yards and a score. Tune started the Cardinals’ second preseason game against the Colts last week. The fact that he’s getting a chance to make another start to close out the preseason could suggest that the backup job is Tune’s to lose.

In a horrifying performance literally everyone saw coming, Tune also lost a fumble. He “added” five carries for 28 yards. You could say it wasn’t much help in a game where Arizona’s 58 yards of total offense was the franchise’s fewest since 1955 in Chicago. Unseemly. There were no instructive takeaways ahead of a Week 10 date where the Cardinals will almost certainly restore Kyler Murray under center. It is not Tune’s fault he was thrown to the wolves this afternoon, but today will severely damage of his odds of becoming a long-term NFL No. 2. It’s going to be a long time before he gets another shot.

That means rookie quarterback Clayton Tune is in line to start against the Browns in Week 9. Murray has one more week to be activated from injured reserve after his 21-day practice window was opened two weeks ago, meaning he is likely to start in Week 10 when the Cardinals take on the Falcons at home.

This doesn’t come as a surprise after Tune repped with the starters this week. The Cardinals will get a look at what they have in Tune, a five-year college starter, before turning the offense back to Kyler Murray with Murray’s 21-day window to be activated ending next week. Jeff Driskel will back up Tune vs the Browns.

According to Gannon, he will likely pick a starter on the team’s flight to Cleveland, or on Saturday after he’s had time to think things over. While it’s fair to say we don’t know who the starter will be, the portion of practice that was opened to media saw Clayton Tune and Jeff Driskel warming up with starters and Kyler Murray throwing to backups. This could be another “competitive advantage” move by Gannon, whose 1-6 Cardinals need every advantage they can get, but it wouldn’t be shocking to see Tune draw the start come Sunday.