The Arizona Cardinals' quarterback situation looks much differently than it did just a week ago.
With Kyler Murray still on the mend from a torn ACL, Colt McCoy was thought to be the leader in the clubhouse to steady the boat until Murray's return. McCoy - set to turn 37 - took a vast majority of reps with the first team through training camp and preseason.
Yet McCoy was cut and soon after the Cardinals acquired Cleveland Browns QB Josh Dobbs to compete with Clayton Tune for the starting job here in the desert.
Arizona obviously overestimated how much gas was left in the tank for McCoy. Head coach Jonathan Gannon has been insistent the team will do whatever is best for the team to win games, which also spurred a trade that sent Isaiah Simmons packing for a mere seventh-round pick.
Many believe the Cardinals are tanking, which includes Bleacher Report. Author Gary Davenport lists Arizona's move to cut McCoy as one of nine roster cuts teams will regret:
"If someone out there understands what the Arizona Cardinals are doing as Week 1 nears, please explain it to me," Davenport wrote.
"For most of the offseason, the belief was that veteran quarterback Colt McCoy would start for the Redbirds while Kyler Murray rehabbed his ACL tear. Instead, he was released this week.
"The 36-year-old wasn't great in six starts for Arizona over the past two years, but he was OK, leading the team to three wins.
"Head coach Jonathan Gannon told reporters that after the team acquired Joshua Dobbs from the Cleveland Browns, the organization decided that Dobbs or rookie Clayton Tune gives the Cardinals the best chance of competing while Murray is out.
"'Just like with every decision, you look at the full body of work. [We] Evaluate our guys, production goes into that and felt like it was the best decision for the team to move forward with the guys that we have in the room to help win us a football game,' said Gannon,
"However, given that Dobbs and Tune have combined for 85 pass attempts (all Dobbs), two starts and zero wins, releasing McCoy makes little sense...unless Arizona's goal is to become the front-runner to land the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft."
The Cardinals' win total dropped to 3.5 ahead of the 2023 season. They open on the road against the Washington Commanders and will not unveil their starting quarterback before then.
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