Cardinals Camp Notebook Day 2: The battle for backup QB and a deeper look at roster construction

One of the camp battles that PHNX Sports highlighted earlier this week is the battle for the backup quarterback position between Desmond Ridder and Clayton Tune.

Arizona Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort traded receiver Rondale Moore (a 2021 second-round pick) to the Atlanta Falcons in March to acquire Ridder. That would normally be a strong sign that he will be the backup and that may still play out, but Ossenfort and the Cardinals scouts obviously saw something in Tune, whom they selected in the fifth round (No.  139) in 2023 out of Houston. They are excited to see what he can do in year two.

“They’ve both been awesome,” coach Jonathan Gannon said. “They’re very mature, self-aware, consistent guys.”

Ridder (6-3, 207), a Falcons’ third-round pick (No. 74) in 2022 out of Cincinnati, has more NFL experience. In 19 games (17 starts) with Atlanta, he completed 249 of 388 passes (64 completion percentage) for 3,544 yards, 14 TDs and 12 interceptions with a composite passer rating of 84.1.

Tune’s one start last season as a rookie against the Cleveland Browns was forgettable, but it is just one game. He completed 11 of 20 passes for just 58 yards. He threw two interceptions and lost a fumble while posting a passer rating of just 20.8.

For the time being, the Cardinals coaching staff is maintaining the stance that this will be an open camp battle.

“They know it’s a healthy competition that’s going to be competitive for the two, three spots,” Gannon said. “Here’s what you need to do to go be the number two, and be ready to play and help us win games if needed; if your role changes.

“We kind of take it day by day with how we kind of structure who’s going with what groups. They’ll both play with the ones, twos and threes because I want them to play with everybody. Both of them will know when they’re going and both of them won’t know when they’re going in. I’m gonna throw them in because that’s what could happen in a game. You might know you’re the starter going into the game or you might not. It’s the second quarter, ‘Hey, you’re in dude. Let’s see how you function.'”

The other question that this battle raises is how much starter Kyler Murray will play this preseason. Gannon has been clear that the first of his three- pillar, training camp plan is to “keep ’em healthy.” Murray will undoubtedly get some reps in the preseason, but given his injury history and the fact that there are only three preseason games to evaluate the backup plan, it’s also reasonable to think that he won’t play much.

“Whatever it may be, you have to be ready to go and make it a smooth transition from the so-called starter to backup,” Ridder told the Arizona Republic in March. “It’s just going in and being able to learn, be a sponge. Kyler’s been in the league for a year or two longer than I have so it’s going to be exciting to get out there and learn what he’s learned and to see how he learns, to see how he manages the game on and off the field.”

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Adding complexity in Year 2

Gannon took playful offense to Cardinals defensive coordinator Nick Rallis‘ suggestion that the defense was simpler in 2023 while the players learned all of its intricacies.

“I would argue with Nick that we weren’t simple year one in a good way,” he said. “I think that we did what we felt we needed to do to try to win and then it goes into, ‘Okay, let’s try to tweak it, make it a little bit better. What are we going to need that we wish we had that we didn’t call?'”

Like any coach, Gannon tweaks his systems from year to year, but he did admit that the playbook opens up a little bit more after the players have a firm grasp of what they’re supposed to be doing; when the plays are a matter of muscle memory rather than thinking.

“There’s always kind of a maturation from year one, year two to year three,” he said. “You always keep learning and growing and figuring things out. 

“I think the most important part is not what the coaches decide, ‘Here’s what we want to do. This is what’s good. This is what works.This is what we need to improve on.’ These new players that we have as rookies and free agents, what do they do? What are they comfortable with? What skill sets do they have? That’s the stuff we need to call. And that’s what Nick and the staff will do.”

A deeper look at roster construction

The Cardinals will have some difficult decisions to make when it is time to cut the roster down to the 53-man limit next month. That said, Gannon reminded reporters that it isn’t always about position battles. Sometimes, it’s about overall allocation of roster spots.

“You can’t look at it in a vacuum because that [one position decision] impacts everything else,” he said, turning instead to Ossenfort’s method of whittling the roster. “If we’re going to keep two, three or four here, or two or three there, or six or seven there, there’s a trickle down effect to the entire roster that that [decision] affects. 

“We talked about competing for your role. Okay, so I’m a DB and I’m competing versus these other DBs, but I’m also competing against that receiver, that tight end, that back because what do you do on game day? All three phases [offense, defense, special teams] apply to that. It’s a reality of the NFL.

“Our guys know that. It kind of sounds harsh as I just said that, but that’s the reality. A lot of those decisions are made not just with each group. It’s the entire team. And you guys know, we’re always gonna make what we think is the best decision for the team.”

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Fun with Froholdt

Cardinals offensive lineman Hjalte Froholdt took the podium on Thursday at training camp. It was appointment viewing.

There were insights, like the fact that he has been working exclusively at center, which should quiet any notions that the Cardinals might choose to insert Evan Brown at that position instead of at left guard. There was enthusiasm for the first day of Cardinals fans at training camp — a fact that Froholdt did not know was coming until he stepped out onto the field.

Mostly, there were hilarious anecdotes.

On Paris Johnson Jr in his second season as a pro: “He’s already trying to be like a cool vet, which is super annoying.”

When asked if there are things he is able to do differently with QB Kyle Murray by having a training camp with him, rather than being thrown together midseason: “There’s not really too much complicated. It’s not like we sit down every day around the bonfire and talk this out.”

His early impressions of Cardinals rookie running back Trey Benson: “I like backs who don’t miss their cuts. He doesn’t seem to miss his cuts so he’s doing pretty good.”

He finished with this spectacular update on his home weight room.

“That would be super fun. Be the alpha on the street and carry around rocks.”

Arizona Cardinals C Hjalte Froholdt wants to turn his home gym into a World’s Strongest Man setup. pic.twitter.com/w4v1DhRGvx

— PHNX Cardinals (@PHNX_Cardinals) July 25, 2024

Top photo of Cardinals QB Desmond Ridder (then with Atlanta) via Getty Images

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