Former Arizona Cardinals center A.Q. Shipley will debut as the new radio color analyst for the team this season after Ron Wolfley stepped down from the role in February.
Shipley brings 12 years of NFL experience to the table after he entered the league as a seventh-round pick in 2009.
He will be joined by play-by-play voice Dave Pasch and sideline reporter Paul Calvisi, who have been in their roles for 24 and 21 years, respectively.
“Great guy, knows the game so well,” Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill told Arizona Sports’ Wolf & Luke after the announcement on Monday. “When you think about the positions that have to know the game … center is super important, and A.Q. is so smart. I think he’s going to do a great job of translating the game and filling those big cleats of Ron Wolfley.”
Five of Shipley’s seasons as a player were with Arizona under coaches Bruce Arians, Steve Wilks and Kliff Kingsbury.
He also played for the Steelers (2009), Eagles (2010-11), Colts (2012, 2014), Ravens (2013) and Buccaneers (2020).
Shipley played 60 of his 110 NFL games with the Cardinals, starting in 51 of those, a number that would have been greater had he not torn his ACL in camp and missed the entire 2018 season.
He ran an NFL-developed offense under Bruce Arians and then transitioned to directing traffic as Kingsbury made his jump from college to the pro as a member of the Air Raid coaching tree.
Shipley briefly was an offensive assistant on Arians’ staff in 2021 but has since pursued a media career with regular appearances on football podcasts, including The Pat McAfee Show.
“I’m so happy that A.Q. Shipley is going to get that opportunity,” Wolfley told Bidwill on Wolf & Luke. “You chose somebody who understands the bloodsport, literally. A guy who is going to line up in the trenches, on the line of scrimmage. Every play, he’s going to hit somebody, and that for me is the essence of football, and A.Q. is going to kill it.”
A.Q. Shipley brings fresh perspective to the Cardinals as color voice
Wolfley, who remains the co-host of Arizona Sports’ Wolf & Luke, announced in February that he was stepping down as the Cardinals’ radio color analyst after 20 years on the microphone.
Wolfley said his desire to prioritize his children’s pursuits in high school was the driving factor in his decision to step away from his job providing in-game analysis of the Cardinals.
When he made the announcement, Wolfley also said he understands that he is well-removed from understanding the Xs and Os of how the NFL is played today.
“The way they train football players today to play in an NFL game, I have absolutely nothing in common with them,” he said. “I think they can bring somebody in much younger than I am and somebody who can really relate to what is going on.
“Yes, it’s going to be difficult,” he added. “It’s going to be very difficult to actually watch (the Cardinals) play and know that I’m not there. Yet at the same time, I also know my responsibility of being a dad and how important that is, and that pretty much puts everything into perspective for me.”
