The Cardinals have some decisions to make about quarterback Kyler Murray.
Short term. And long term.
He’s back at practice after last December’s torn ACL. When will he play?
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media suggests that Week 10 vs. the Falcons is the most likely return to game action, with Week 9 at the Browns being possible.
Although Rapoport’s article never comes right out and says it, hints of the broader situation ooze from the screen. The Cardinals have to figure out whether to keep him beyond 2024. The Cardinals have a new G.M. and a new coach who neither drafted him nor paid him. And they could end up with a straight line to a top rookie quarterback prospect.
And here’s the simple reality. Plenty of executives and coaches would not want a quarterback of limited height running their offense, whatever his skills might be. Where do Monti Ossenfort and Jonathan Gannon fall in that conversation? If either or both prefer a taller signal-caller, they’re not going to broadcast it to the world.
That’s why former NFL executive Michael Lombardi was saying before the season started that Murray might not play at all this year. With millions in future injury guarantees that will become vested if Murray is injured again, there’s an argument to be made to keep him in bubble wrap until after the season ends.
But if they’re thinking about trading him, there’s value in having him play. So that other teams can see that he still has it. And maybe he has it to the point at which the Cardinals decide to keep him.
Maybe, with Murray playing, the Cardinals will win enough games that they won’t finish in a spot on the draft order where they would be able to make the same kind of swap that they did when Josh Rosen was sent packing for Murray.
