The moment all Arizona Cardinals fans have been waiting for is upon us. After a devastating non-contact ACL injury against the New England Patriots in Week 14, Murray is scheduled to return. On Sunday, Week 10 against the Atlanta Falcons, K1 is back at home against a team sporting a 4-5 record but hardly a world-beater. With 2024 still a question mark, all eyes are on the Cardinals and Kyler Murray.
Ready Player One. pic.twitter.com/5VqK0aqxo9
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) November 7, 2023
Murray might see this as an audition for 2024, or is Arizona looking to see what they need to put around him for success? It’s a good question, but the betting money is this is more of a 31-team tryout, not a bailout of his current team.
The Cardinals are all kinds of bad. The “good feelz” from a Week 3 win against the Dallas Cowboys have faded. Now aimless and void of significant leadership, Murray is back under center. With eight weeks to go in this never-ending dumpster fire, the Oklahoma alum is playing on borrowed time.
Good for Murray, good for the Cardinals, and good for the NFL. Dan Graziano of ESPN believes Arizona will move on from the disappointing experience in the desert. Inside the numbers tell you this will be a tough move and will cost the Cardinals nearly $50 million in dead cap space. However, the upside is Arizona gets a second shot at a top-tier quarterback. Additionally, the overwhelming shortcomings became a constant companion. Why not shift these to someone else?
Murray, a two-sport star at Oklahoma, was drafted by the Oakland Athletics ninth overall in the 2018 amateur draft. He’s always maintained his heart was with baseball, but money talks, and Arizona gave him a Brinks truck full of it. On July 21, 2022, Murray signed a monster deal worth $230.5 million over five years with a guaranteed $160 million for pocket change. Arizona had their guy, their future, their championship quarterback, and the feeling around the desert were “finally”.
“Finally” never happened. Instead, dysfunction and sniping gave way to an organization set adrift. Murray’s injury brought about the end of head coach Kliff Kingsbury and General Manager Steve Keim. That change brought about the new regime of GM Monti Ossenfort and head coach Jonathan Gannon. It also brought a refresh to a lineup via the 2023 NFL Draft. During the season, two quarterbacks have taken snaps with little to no success: Josh Dobbs and Clayton Tune.
Kyler Murray Looks to Leave His Mark On Cardinals In 2023
Murray will have some opportunities to show a little of what he has to potential suitors. With three games against a quickly weakening NFC West, and a game at Philadelphia on New Year’s Eve, it’s anyone’s guess. Toss in Atlanta, Houston, Pittsburgh, and Chicago, and Murray’s Cardinals could, could, make a little noise.
The Cardinals hold all the cards come season’s end. They look to have a top pick locked up, as well as a big couple of cards to play in Murray and Marquise Brown. The bottom line is that all eyes are on the Arizona Cardinals, it’s just not for winning games.
Main Photo: Michael Chow – USA Today Sports
