The state of the Arizona Cardinals' quarterback room in 2023 is a complete wild card. Kyler Murray tore his ACL on against the New England Patriots last season. He is making good progress, but is still on the physically unable to perform list. It seems most likely that Murray will not be ready by Week 1 and could be out for much longer than that. This puts the focus on the depth behind him.

Colt McCoy is the Cardinals' backup as of now and has performed admirably in Kyler Murray's stead when he has been forced to miss games over the past two seasons. McCoy is also 36 years old. No one should fault the Cardinals if they want to see what other options they have going forward.

One of those options should be Clayton Tune. The Cardinals selected Tune in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL Draft out of the University of Houston. Tune put up plenty of numbers over his five seasons at Houston, especially during his final season. He completed 67% of his passes, accumulated over 4,000 yards through the air and passed for 40 touchdowns. Tune has carried that positive play into his first-ever training camp.

Most teams carry two quarterbacks, but the Cardinals could be one of the few that carries three. If Murray begins the season on the PUP list, he would not count on the Cardinals' 53-man roster. That leaves McCoy and Tune. Considering McCoy's age and injury history and Tune's youth, keeping another quarterback would be a wise decision.

They have two other options on their roster they could keep between David Blough and Jeff Driskel. How those two perform in the preseason could dictate who stays and who goes.

David Blough

David Blough has bounced around the NFL. He began his career with the Detroit Lions, whom he started five games for in 2019. Blough racked up 984 yards, four touchdowns and six interceptions on 94-174 passing. The Lions released the Hard Knocks star last season though. From there, Blough signed with the Minnesota Vikings' practice squad. After both Murray and McCoy got injured last season, the Cardinals picked up the phone and signed him at the end of the season. Blough played in two games for the Cardinals and went 38-58 for 402 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions.

David Blough has NFL experience filling in for injured starters, but hasn't performed that well in the majority of his starts. On top of that, Blough is a similar pocket-passer type of quarterback that the Cardinals already have in McCoy and Tune. Blough is a gamer but doesn't provide as much versatility as Driskel.

Jeff Driskel

Jeff Driskel, on the other hand, provides an element the Cardinals don't have without Kyler Murray: mobility. Driskel has 4.54 wheels at 6-4 234 pounds. His athleticism allowed the Texans to deploy him as their version of Taysom Hill in flashes. Those flashes really popped against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 14 of last season. Driskel carried the ball seven times for 36 yards and added 38 yards through the air along with a touchdown.

Driskel was used as a gadget player in this game but also has starting experience. Over his seven-year career, Driskel has 11 starts to his name. He's won only one of those starts and has completed just 59% of his passes, but he does have 14 career touchdowns to just eight interceptions. He's a capable player.

Moving Forward

Both David Blough and Driskel have skillsets that work for them and contribute to an NFL team. If the Cardinals elect to keep a third quarterback on their roster while Murray continues his rehab, one of these two make for solid depth options. Who that will be will hinge on how Blough and Driskel perform in the preseason.