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Morning Coffee: Two NFL futures bets to consider at FanDuel
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We are nine days away from the start of the NFL regular season.
The Arizona Cardinals don’t have a starting quarterback.
On Monday, Arizona’s first-year head coach Jonathan Gannon told us that franchise quarterback Kyler Murray will miss a minimum of four games as he starts the regular season on the physically unable to perform list.
The Cardinals also cut veteran quarterback Colt McCoy, who most presumed would be their Week 1 starter as Murray continues to recover from the torn ACL he suffered in December.
As someone who pointed out that Arizona will be the worst team in the NFL this season back in February, I wasn’t surprised when the Cardinals opened as the favourite to finish with the league’s worst record this season at FanDuel.
Six months after I made that initial prediction, I still believe we could find value fading Arizona in a pair of NFL futures markets.
This is the Morning Coffee for Tuesday Aug. 29, 2023.
Two NFL futures bets to consider at FanDuel
In many ways, the writing was seemingly on the wall for Arizona when Murray suffered a torn ACL in his right knee back in December.
There was no guarantee on a timeline for his return, with a very realistic possibility that he would be forced to miss time this season.
Now we know that is officially the case.
Cardinals do not plan to activate QB Kyler Murray off the Physically Unable to Perform List by Tuesday’s 4 pm ET deadline, which means he then would ineligible to be active during the first four games of the season.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 28, 2023
A couple of months after Murray’s injury, the Cardinals overhauled their front office and coaching staff, signalling the organization would shift its focus to the long term.
That sentiment was reinforced by the $21 million dead cap hit Arizona incurred when they released DeAndre Hopkins.
The Cardinals let several key veterans walk in free agency.
All signs pointed towards an extension of last year’s decline.
Kyler Murray has no timetable for a return and Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon said he won’t name a starting QB.
— TSN EDGE (@TSN_Edge) August 28, 2023
Can you see the Cardinals going winless this season? 😬 pic.twitter.com/xobS0LIM3C
For as dire as things looked on paper, the most optimistic fan might have held out hope that McCoy could keep Arizona’s season alive long enough for Murray to return.
However, McCoy was cut on Monday, leaving the Cardinals with two options at quarterback for Week 1.
Cardinals release QB Colt McCoy. (via @PSchrags) pic.twitter.com/emh6uBeoV9
— NFL (@NFL) August 28, 2023
Arizona could start 2017 fourth-round pick Joshua Dobbs, who was acquired via a trade with the Cleveland Browns last week. The other option is rookie fifth-round pick Clayton Tune.
The Cardinals are taking a few days to sort through the QB question. Obviously, Josh Dobbs has background with OC Drew Petzing. Clayton Tune—a rookie with a lot of reps in college (a la Purdy)—has come along nicely, though they'd have to simplify the offense a bit for him.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) August 28, 2023
The Cardinals enter this season with a new coaching staff, plenty of holes in their roster, and we still don’t know who their starting quarterback will be in Week 1.
I locked in Arizona under 4.5 wins -110 at FanDuel when that market first opened.
While I’m tempted to take the Cardinals to be the league’s last remaining winless team at +460, I’ll stick with the market I first flagged back in February and recommend a play on Arizona to finish with the league’s worst record at +260.
A FanDuel Best Bet for Tuesday’s MLB slate
Despite being tempted by some monster favourites in the MLB last night, I settled for the NRFI in last night’s game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers as my FanDuel Best Bet for Monday night.
The Dodgers scored three runs off Zac Gallen in the bottom of the first and cruised to a 7-4 win.
Freddie and Max work quick. pic.twitter.com/rwjOoQhHI3
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 29, 2023
Turning the page this morning, I’m locking in a bet on the hottest team in baseball.
The Seattle Mariners have won 12 of their past 13 games to improve to 75-56 – the best record in the AL West.
The Mariners can’t afford to let their foot off the gas in a division that features two legitimate World Series contenders in the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers.
Fortunately for Seattle, they play the worst team in baseball again tonight.
Julio Rodríguez’s five 4+ hit games are the most by a player in a 10-game span since 1900
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) August 29, 2023
READ THAT AGAIN
!!!
h/t @EliasSports https://t.co/ObB7rZIfW1
Coming off a 7-0 win over the Oakland Athletics in the series opener, the Mariners are a monster -330 ML favourite for tonight’s contest.
George Kirby is 6-3 with a 2.87 ERA at home this season.
George Kirby is a strike-machine 🤖@Mariners | #SeaUsRise pic.twitter.com/FGxphv3PQ9
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) August 22, 2023
Meanwhile, the Athletics have lost five of Ken Waldichuk’s past six starts.
Seattle is 8-0 against Oakland this season. I’ll bet on the Mariners to stay perfect in this series.
I’ll take Seattle to win by 2+ runs again and take the Mariners on the run line at -130 as my FanDuel Best Bet.