That puts Tune, a fifth-rounder, in line to lead the Cards, who have scored a lone upset against the Cowboys but otherwise dropped seven of their first eight out of the gate.
They’ve been a pugnacious bunch, far harder to put away in most weeks than expected. In the first month of the season, much of that plucky underdog status was earned thanks to Dobbs delivering sturdy performances after coming to Arizona by way of trade on Aug. 24.
The journeyman completed 70.7% of his passes for 814 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions through Week 4. He did fumble three times in the season opener, a precursor to his ball security issues as he’s now put the ball on the turf in five straight. And interceptions have become a problem, as well, with five spread across the last four games.
Despite the downtick in performance, his benching comes as somewhat of a surprise considering Gannon’s vote of confidence less than 24 hours ago. It also generates a degree of intrigue a day ahead of the NFL trade deadline.
Dobbs’ trip to the bench comes before a matchup with the the team that shipped him to the Cardinals in the first place. The Browns made that trade after Dobbs initially won the No. 2 job behind Deshaun Watson and Cleveland announced it would waive Kellen Mond. Instead, the Browns made a reversal of their own by moving Dobbs, naming rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson their No. 2 and keeping Mond for a while longer.
This demotion months later could be as simple as trying to find a spark, but several teams across the league saw injuries at the quarterback position on Sunday and could be evaluating their backup plans before the door slams shut on trades.
Regardless, what is certain is that the 1-7 Cardinals are making a change until their true QB1 is fully ready for action.
Unless Murray returns in Week 9, they’ll be marching to Clayton’s tune.