Former center A.Q. Shipley is returning to the Arizona Cardinals, not on the field but in the radio broadcast booth. The team has named Shipley its new color analyst, stepping into the role previously held by Ron Wolfley, who retired in February after two decades on the mic.
The Cardinals selected Shipley following a search that included a mock broadcast with play-by-play announcer Dave Pasch, who has called Cardinals games for more than 20 years.
Shipley joined the Cardinals in 2015 under then-head coach Bruce Arians, eventually becoming the starting center from 2016 to 2019. He signed with the Buccaneers in 2020, reunited with Arians again, and earned a Super Bowl ring, though a career-ending neck injury cut that season short. He also spent a brief stint coaching in Tampa Bay.
His broadcasting experience includes appearances on The Pat McAfee Show, where he’s been a regular contributor in recent years, and podcast segments breaking down offensive line play with former teammate Justin Pugh.
Shipley stated, “I think there’s a whole different area of expertise to explaining the game, and that starts and finishes really with the offensive line. When I played, I was two inches too short; my arms were two inches too short. How did I stay in the league all that time? I took it very seriously, studied my tail off, and felt that I was tougher and worked harder than most.
“I’ll take the same aspect into this. I think it’s really cool to talk about why this simple inside zone works to the left, but the defense ran a twist stunt and wrapped the Will linebacker. I’m speaking a foreign language to some, but if I can do that in a way where my Mom can understand it, then I know everybody can understand it.”
Pasch added, “When you look at whether it’s Wolf or [Bill] Walton or the NBA or college football analysts on ESPN, there is one common thing with the best. They all have different strengths, different personalities, but the biggest common denominator is passion for the game. A.Q. has that.”
