Clayton Tune lost the Cardinals' backup quarterback job to Desmond Ridder

If the competition for the backup quarterback job was wide open before the Arizona Cardinals’ final preseason game against the Denver Broncos on Sunday, it’s now close.

Desmond Ridder won the job, at least from what I saw.

Clayton Tune didn’t become a confident statue in Arizona’s 38-12 road loss. He made a mediocre first impression, and it got even worse when he entered the fray in the fourth quarter and threw an interception that was returned 94 yards for a touchdown.

Tune was the only quarterback on either team to fail to get his team into the end zone.

There are a lot of factors to consider when evaluating Houston’s second-year quarterback.

He wasn’t playing behind the starting offensive line. He wasn’t playing with Marvin Harrison Jr. We don’t know what offensive coordinator Drew Petzing was calling. (Often, offensive coordinators call plays to see how they look in game situations rather than to show their best performance in the preseason.)

But still, with Tune at QB, the Cardinals’ offense didn’t work.

Tune took sackings and was unable to consistently escape pressure to throw passes downfield.

He had a big play where he evaded an unblocked edge rusher and threw a nice pass to Xavier Weaver for a 43-yard gain. But that drive sputtered in the red zone and ended in a fumble when Tune threw a third-and-goal pass from the 13 to running back Tony Jones Jr., who was crushed and lost the ball near the 5-yard line.

The fumble wasn’t Tune’s, but you have to wonder if that was his best option. Jones was heavily covered and had little chance to score. Could Tune have found someone speeding toward the end zone? Could he have moved in the pocket to extend the play, giving a player a chance to break through?

Arizona’s coaches will be able to tell from the footage. All we can judge is the result. And it wasn’t good in that series.

Tune’s stats weren’t terrible. He completed 12 of 18 passes for 120 yards, but numbers rarely tell the whole story. Unless they’re these numbers: an interception for a 94-yard touchdown in the red zone.

Tune struggled as a rookie last year, both in the preseason and the regular season. And on Sunday I didn’t see as much evidence of growth as I would have liked to feel confident in him as the No. 2 if Kyler Murray misses some time.

Meanwhile, Ridder hit guys with pace and pace, creating the perception that he knew where he wanted to go with the ball before it was thrown rather than waiting to figure it out once the action started.

He took Arizona into the red zone on his first drive.

The offense stalled at the Denver 5-yard line, but on third-and-goal, Ridder took a shotgun snap and tried to make a play.

When none of his receivers broke through immediately, he attacked the line, pressuring the defense to engage him as a running threat. Then, he attempted a pass near the sideline that could have been a touchdown. It was an incomplete pass, but Ridder made the right play. The drive ended with an Arizona field goal.

Ridder also made deep passes to Denver’s secondary instead of control passes to running backs for short gains.

Again, there are factors that we do not know.

Was there a significant drop-off in Denver’s defensive talent between the first and second halves? Are Arizona’s reserves better than expected? Did Petzing adjust his playing order at halftime?

Ridder’s numbers were nothing to write home about. He completed 10 of 16 passes for 111 yards. But when he had to leave the field to get checked for a concussion after his helmet came off, Ridder stepped in and threw the interception.

Ridder found open receivers at the top of his throws. He connected with players on the move and even made a nice behind-the-shoulder pass to Tejhaun Palmer for a 21-yard gain early in the third quarter.

Later in that drive, after a Hassan Hall touchdown, Ridder spun to the right and hit Andre Baccellia right in the hands for what would have been a 2-point conversion had Baccellia not dropped the pass.

Daylen Baldwin dropped a pass that could have meant a first down on the next series.

Ridder wasn’t perfect, but he moved the ball. He dropped back and threw it. He went through his progressions before coming down. And he even had a fancy 27-yard run with about 4:30 left in the fourth quarter.

I don’t know what Jonathan Gannon and Drew Petzing see every day in practice and in the film room, and I don’t know all the factors that influenced Tune and Ridder’s performance.

But if my job performance depended on Ridder or Tune, and they were even entering the final preseason game, I’d pick Ridder.

Contact Moore at [email protected] or 602-444-2236. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @SayingMoore.

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Clayton Tune lost the Cardinals’ backup quarterback job to Desmond Ridder

ByS. Jacob

By S. Jacob

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