Cardinals down to Josh Dobbs, Clayton Tune as starter after releasing Colt McCoy

A massive day of cuts around the NFL has cleared up the Arizona Cardinals’ quarterback battle.

According to NFL insider Adam Schefter, the Cardinals are letting go of 36-year-old Colt McCoy to leave either Joshua Dobbs or Clayton Tune as the Week 1 starter.

Here was that report, which Schefter tweeted out on Monday afternoon:

“And now the Cardinals have released veteran QB Colt McCoy, per league sources. Either veteran Josh Dobbs, whom Arizona acquired last week, or rookie fifth-round pick QB Clayton Tune will start opening day at Washington.”

An exit from the veteran McCoy means a terrific opportunity for Tune and Dobbs to begin the season.

More on Tune, Dobbs

Tune is hot off a stellar college career with Houston. He spent five years with the Cougars and steadily improved each season. He threw for just under 800 yards as a rookie in five appearances, then roughly doubled that figure to 1,533 as a sophomore in seven total games.

As a junior, he played in eight and threw for 2,000. In year No. 4, he was the full-time starter all season long, passing for 3,500 yards and 30 touchdowns. He added a 4 to each of those figures in his final season last fall to throw for 4,074 yards and 40 touchdowns.

After such a prolific career, Tune was a late-round draft choice, as the Cardinals scooped him up in the fifth round with the 139th overall pick. Now, he could wind up starting on day one as a rookie.

Meanwhile, Josh Dobbs continues his lengthy career as an NFL backup and finally has a shot to be a starter for a few weeks if he can win this job. Since leaving Tennessee after the 2016 season, Dobbs has consistently found homes but rarely stuck.

He was with Pittsburgh for the longest time, the team that drafted him in the fourth round. But after appearing in just six games through five years, he moved on to Cleveland to begin the season. But once Deshaun Watson returned, he was waived in November.

After a stint on the Lions practice squad, he landed in Tennessee, where a brutal QB situation allowed him to step in and start the final two games of the season. He lost to the Cowboys in the first contest and threw for 232 yards.

But in the second game, with a playoff spot on the line vs. Jacksonville, he was strip-sacked and fumbled into a scoop and score for the Jaguars late in the game to seal the deal. He did not return to Tennessee and was eventually picked up by Arizona.