Clayton Tune this week stopped short of saying he is going to be this Sunday's starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals. Head coach Jonathan Gannon had yet to announce whether it would be Kyler Murray or Tune at Cleveland.
But there are signs that point to Tune getting the call and Murray being held out one more week before the Cardinals face a deadline to add him to the active roster.
In the portion of Thursday's practice open to media viewing, Tune was the quarterback taking snaps with starting center Hjalte Froholdt. Tune and practice squad quarterback Jeff Driskel, who was released last month and brought back this week, were doing more dropbacks and throws than Murray.
It's unclear what happens in the team portion of practice when it's 11-on-11, though Murray is likely getting at least a few snaps with the first-team offense. But Tune and Driskel are both familiar with the Cardinals' offense, and it's fair to wonder if Tune starts, whether Driskel will be elevated to the active roster and be the backup in Cleveland.
That would allow the Cardinals to not have to activate Murray before Sunday and give him another week of full practices before he finally suits up and starts in Week 10 at home against the Atlanta Falcons. Murray has practiced fully this week and last, but ended up being listed as doubtful for the Baltimore game last week and was not added to the active roster.
It's speculatory, but nevertheless a scenario worthy of consideration. Meanwhile, Tune talked confidently about his possible opportunity.
He said he's come a long way since training camp.
"It's exciting to have this opportunity. Feel like I've been preparing the same way I have been all season. But you know, just excited for this opportunity to go out and give my team an opportunity to win," Tune said. "Obviously, it's a road environment, it'll be wild, there'll be a lot going on. So just gotta operate clean and efficiently and if given the opportunity, go out and make the most of it."
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In the preseason, Tune got the most playing time among Cardinals quarterbacks with Driskel and Murray injured and Josh Dobbs not with the team until toward the end of August. Since then, he's been building chemistry with the wide receivers, getting familiar with their routes and watching a lot of film.
And Tune is a good runner. He's prepared for designed quarterback runs and scrambles, something that Murray and Dobbs have shown can be effective.
"It's important that your teammates see that you don't get too high, get too low, just remain the same guy every day and play in, play out," Tune said. "We'll see. I think I have a good grasp of handling my emotions. So obviously, it's a high-emotion sport, you've gotta be able to go in there and handle it."
Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing said Tune hasn't seemed overwhelmed by the NFL game and has taken in the offense well as a rookie.
"I think there's always room for growth in anyone's game. So there's always areas where you say, 'Hey, we can do this a little bit better, clean up your feet, where are your eyes?'" Petzing said. "What decision, why did you make that decision? Okay, this is great, this is good. This needs to improve. So that's a day-to-day conversation but I think overall, just the way that he's attacked his job and making sure that he is working on all those things and learning."
Tune's teammates support him. Froholdt said he trusts that Tune will be fine once he gets a couple of snaps.
"It's a big moment for him. ... Maybe just being a little new and ignorant to it, you know, just say, 'I'm just gonna go out there,'" Froholdt said. "And I think he has a good mindset, he's gonna go out and put his best foot forward. It's a tough deal, because we're facing a really good (Browns defensive) front that we gotta take care of, and we're putting a lot of pressure on our shoulders to take care of that."
Defensive lineman Jonathan Ledbetter is happy for Tune, should it be his moment.
"You gotta go out there and just be in the field," Ledbetter said. "That's the only way to get experience, that's the only way to get comfortable."
