Auburn football: “Nobody knows” what’s going on with TJ Finley

The Auburn football team had a tough time settling on a true quarterback early on in the 2022 season. With Zach Calzada’s injury ultimately keeping him out of the race, it came down to TJ Finley and Robby Ashford, with Finley having a lot more experience.

However, once Finley was named the official QB1 at the start of the season, fans continued to see just as much action from Robby Ashford as the alleged QB1. From an outsider’s perspective, it seemed as though the team struggled to come up with any rhythm on the offense because of the frequent switch ups at the quarterback position.

After Finley was dealt an injury to his throwing shoulder during the Penn State game, leaving him unavailable for the next three games, Ashford cemented himself as Auburn football’s quarterback, consistently showing grit and determination as he continued to learn his position.

So where does that leave Finley, now? The QB did not travel with the team to Starkville for their matchup with Mississippi State, which interim head coach Carnell Williams said was to give Finley a mental break. Fly War Eagle reported that the Louisiana native was likely planning to enter the transfer portal yet again.

It seems that Finley has quietly giving up on playing Auburn football. According to Auburn Live, sources indicated that the QB missed practices all week and that he and his family were absent from a team-wide conference call about academic expectations.

"The former LSU transfer missed practices all week according to sources. One source said of Finley’s situation, “nobody knows, people haven’t seen him.”"

Finley is still on the depth chart for the Tigers, indicating that he would be the backup should Robby Ashford be unable to play, but with Finley missing practice and being generally absent, his status is unclear ahead of Auburn’s last SEC home game.