A day later, Jonathan Gannon opened the door again for a Kyler in Cleveland scenario.
Even more unexpected was the Cardinals coach’s statement that if Kyler Murray wasn’t ready to start at quarterback on Sunday, rookie Clayton Tune would start against the Browns.
Gannon said Sunday night after his team’s loss to Baltimore that Joshua Dobbs would start in Cleveland.
“I talked to all the quarterbacks Monday morning,” Gannon said. “We will continue to train Kyler and see how he progresses throughout the week.”
Murray remains on the PUP list. He must be added to the 53-man squad no later than November 8th and has been training fully healthy since last week. Last Thursday and Friday he didn’t even have a training clearance for his rehabilitated knee, although he had received a “doubtful” injury clearance the Friday before the game.
“He’s coming off a serious injury, he’s been working here for a few weeks, he’s made a lot of progress, but we want to make sure he’s comfortable in everything we do,” Gannon said.
Gannon said, “I really don’t know” when he’ll decide between Murray and Tune before this week of training.
Dobbs struggled against the Ravens for three quarters before leading a fourth-quarter comeback that failed in a 31-24 loss. Gannon said after the game that he still had “complete confidence” in Dobbs and had not considered using rookie Clayton Tune.
Gannon said that after re-watching video of the game, he changed his mind and switched to either Murray or Tune and benched Dobbs.
Tune is excited about the opportunity, Gannon said. “The things we saw in the preseason and things we saw him work on, he did a good job,” Gannon added. “I think he’s going to go out there and sling it when he’s out there.”
Tune’s only appearance in this year’s regular season was a fake punt at Seattle in Week 7. He completed a four-yard pass to fellow rookie Michael Wilson, although it wasn’t a first down. In the preseason, Tune completed 34 of 59 passes for 353 yards, one touchdown and one interception.