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Josh Weinfuss, ESPN Staff Writer
TEMPE, Ariz. — For the second time this season, Arizona Cardinals rookie quarterback Clayton Tune has been caught in the middle of a quarterback debate.
First, it was whether or not he’d start over Joshua Dobbs in Week 1. Now, it’s whether he’ll start over Kyler Murray on Sunday.
On Monday, coach Jonathan Gannon said that if Murray, who hasn’t been activated to Arizona’s 53-man roster yet, doesn’t start against the Cleveland Browns (1 p.m. ET, CBS), then Tune would be the guy. But ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter reported that Tune would, indeed, get his first-career start for the 1-7 Cardinals.
And since Arizona traded Dobbs, who started the Cardinals’ first eight games, to the Minnesota Vikings on Tuesday, Tune has been the only quarterback on the Cardinals’ 53-man roster. Arizona signed quarterback Jeff Driskel, who spent the offseason with Arizona, to the practice squad on Wednesday.
While the world waits to see who gets the start in Cleveland, Tune continues to prepare as if he’ll be the one.
“It’s exciting to have this opportunity,” Tune said Wednesday. “I feel like I’ve been preparing the same way I have been all season.”
In the huddle, Tune has been even-keeled and composed, which left tackle D.J. Humphries said is fitting for Tune.
“He’s so cool and collected,” Humphries said. “I’m a big fan of Clayton, as well. It’s just his demeanor and how he carries himself. It is super cool to me to see a young guy with that type of confidence and understanding.”
Tune, a fifth-round pick out of Houston, said on Wednesday he’s always been cool, calm and collected on the field. It’s a persona instilled in him by former coaches, who stressed to Tune that it was important for his teammates to not see him too high or too low.
During practice, Tune impressed his more experienced teammates with how clear and in charge he’s been in the huddle.
“Which is what you need, man,” tight end Geoff Swaim said. “You don’t want a guy coming in there, being timid and he does a good job of owning it when he’s in there.”
While Humphries believes Tune’s demeanor will help him should he play Sunday, Tune thinks he has a “good grasp” of his emotions, even those that’ll surface if he gets his first NFL start.
Tune has played just one snap all season and it came on a fake punt in Seattle in Week 7. He completed his only pass for 4 yards. That’s all Arizona has seen out of the 24-year-old outside of practice.
Behind the closed curtain of practice, however, Tune has shown progress and growth.
“I would say I’ve made a lot of improvements, you know, watching Dobbs, watching Kyler, watching all the guys that have come before me, learning, and learning from the mistakes that I’ve made early on,” Tune said. “I feel like I’ve come a long way from training camp.”
Gannon called it “production in practice.” That translates to Tune playing faster and having a better handle on the offense because of the amount of reps he’s received.
“You can learn a lot from watching guys, seeing a lot of ball,” he said. “The NFL’s a different game, so just seeing how the NFL is played, so I think it’s good.”
The risk of sitting, waiting and watching is not experiencing live NFL action.
From the preseason — when Tune completed 34 of 59 passes for 353 yards and a touchdown and an interception — to now, Tune has noticed the NFL is “a little faster.” He could tell it means more in the regular season, which has led to players being “more fired up.” As a result, Tune said he’ll need to make quick and smart decisions.
“I think a lot of it’s the process and understanding the game and the nuances between the college game and the NFL game, the speed of the game, the variety of coverage, how the run game ties into the quarterback’s responsibilities,” Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing said. “I think a lot of that was new to him. I think he really embraced that challenge and learning that and committing himself to that. So, it’s been fun to see.”
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