The Cardinals released their first depth chart of the 2023 regular season ahead of Sunday’s Week 1 showdown with the Commanders and had a glaring lack of clarity at one key position: quarterback.
Two-time Pro Bowler Kyler Murray will miss the first four weeks of the season after being placed on the PUP list amid his recovery from a torn ACL last year. Following that transaction, the NFL world has been waiting to see if Arizona would tab either Joshua Dobbs or Clayton Tune as the starter.
Jonathan Gannon strangely opted to list Dobbs first with an “OR” before Tune's name second on the depth chart.
Although many believe Dobbs is front-runner to be the starter against Washington, this was among the first time many had ever seen an NFL club use the designation on their regular season depth chart, especially with Week 1 right around the corner.
#AZCardinals Week 1 depth chart lists Joshua Dobbs or Clayton Tune as QB1
— Arizona Cardinals Insiders 🎤🎙 (@AZCardsInsiders) September 5, 2023
-@CraigAZSports pic.twitter.com/QBgtd5bFax
Following the odd depth-chart release, many NFL fans roasted the club for their usage of the “OR” in between the players names, while others simply believe the team is essentially tanking to land USC’s Caleb Williams.
Washington trying to game plan for Dobbs AND Tune https://t.co/ICs3ZyR88l pic.twitter.com/3ASM1wwcYG
— Chew Russell (@FatherDynasty) September 5, 2023
Coach Gannon is the chess master and we are all his pawns. This is truly epic coaching https://t.co/fP8HWdQLRk
— Nathaniel Jackett (@actionjack69) September 5, 2023
This team is unserious and is absolutely tanking for Caleb Williams. https://t.co/neasmVX27J
— Sparta Chris (@Sparta_Chris) September 5, 2023
https://t.co/pzHzQ6gVnF pic.twitter.com/V3csQIYQLL
— LoBoJangles (@LoBoJangles) September 5, 2023
The Cardinals might find a way to go 0-18 https://t.co/RLnUDhHk7p
— Matt Verderame (@MattVerderame) September 5, 2023
Commanders gotta be SHAKING rn https://t.co/3oiccFqw33
— BenchwarmerBran (@BenchwarmerBran) September 5, 2023
Dobbs -OR- Tune…
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) September 5, 2023
and Ron Rivera remains flummoxed pic.twitter.com/Pd68aBXx2q
Do cardinals get a first round pick taken away for tanking? Because this gotta be the most intentional tank I ever seen. https://t.co/QauDvNP0F7
— Demon Back Rō🇩🇴 (@yovaniJr_) September 5, 2023