Cardinals trade QB Josh Dobbs to Minnesota; Murray or Tune to start Sunday

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5/AP) — The Arizona Cardinals have traded quarterback Joshua Dobbs to the Minnesota Vikings, the team announced Tuesday morning. The move opens the door for the return of Kyler Murray, who’s been sidelined with an ACL injury since last December.

Pending passing a physical, Dobbs is heading to Minnesota along with a conditional seventh-round 2024 NFL Draft pick. The Cardinals get a sixth-round draft pick in exchange.

We have agreed to a trade with the Minnesota Vikings. pic.twitter.com/XIdr9PXeM2
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) October 31, 2023

The move makes sense for the Vikings, who are seeking a replacement quarterback after Kirk Cousins suffered a season-ending Achilles injury on Sunday. And while Dobbs started the season with relatively impressive numbers, his performance has taken a turn as the season has gone on and Sunday was another disappointing outing for the fill-in quarterback.

Regardless of the trade announcement, Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon already announced on Monday that he was making a change at quarterback and benching Dobbs. Gannon said that either Murray or rookie Clayton Tune would start Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns.

“Talked to all the quarterbacks this morning — we’re going to keep ramping up Kyler and see how he progresses through the week,” Gannon said on Monday. “And if it’s not Kyler, it’s going to be Clayton Tune.”

The Cardinals (1-7) dropped their fifth straight game Sunday, falling to the Baltimore Ravens in 31-24 after scoring 10 points in the final few minutes to make the final margin more respectable. Dobbs threw two interceptions in the middle of the game that the Ravens turned into 14 points and the Cardinals were never able to completely recover.

As for Murray, he was designated to return from the physically unable to perform list on Oct. 18 — which allowed him to return to practice. The Cardinals have 21 days from that Oct. 18 date to activate Murray to the active roster. That means he could return for the game against the Cleveland Browns on Nov. 5 or against the Atlanta Falcons on Nov. 12.

Murray was a full participant in practice last week, though the Cardinals have kept a patient approach.

Murray should have some good help around him when he returns. Rookie running back Emari Demercado continues to play well, rushing for 78 yards against the Ravens. Second-year tight end Trey McBride also continued his emergence with 10 catches for 95 yards and a touchdown. Rookie receiver Michael Wilson also had four catches for 58 yards.

If it’s not Murray on Sunday, the ball will go to a rookie QB. Tune is a fifth-round pick out of Houston who had some good moments during preseason. He completed one pass for 4 yards in the team’s loss to the Seahawks on Oct. 22.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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