Arizona Cardinals ponder key quarterback move that could change NFL landscape
Kyler Murray’s future as the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals remains uncertain.
Murray was the first-overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft and was set to be one of the future stars of the league. However, the 26-year-old has not taken part in a single snap in 2023 as he recovers from a knee injury.
The quarterback sustained an ACL injury on December 12 last season and has been continuing his recovery ever since. In August, it was confirmed that Murray would be placed on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list, which meant that he would miss at least the first four games of the season.
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In place of Murray has been Joshua Dobbs, who was only acquired by the Cardinals on August 24 following a trade with the Cleveland Browns. Dobbs has played in all five of the Cardinals’ games in the NFL this season, amassing six touchdown passes with two interceptions and a QB rating of 55.8.
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Despite an impressive run of performances from Dobbs after arriving in Arizona on relatively short notice, there are still question marks over what the quarterback position will look like going forward. As a result, such questions have been directed at the future of Murray and whether or not he will return as the team’s QB after his injury.
A report from ESPN in August stated that the most likely option for the Cardinals would be to trade Murray to another team next off-season. This, the report claimed, would be if Arizona endures a difficult 2023 season and gets its hands on the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2024.
In that eventuality, it’s possible that Arizona could then select USC quarterback Caleb Williams, the widely tipped first-overall pick in next year’s draft. Should that happen, Murray’s future at University of Phoenix Stadium looks questionable, at the very least.
Trading Murray would require whichever team wants the quarterback to give up a lot, most likely draft picks. If any are part of the 2024 draft, especially first-rounders, then that would put Arizona in a strong position to have the best chance at tackling next season with the upcoming draft class.
As for this season, it’s still not known when exactly Murray will return to practice. The quarterback remains on the PUP list, but Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon explained last week why he did not feel discouraged by the situation
“I don’t think there is any disappointment,” Gannon said on October 4, . “We knew his timeline, where he is at, and that’s kind of a day-by-day thing with all the guys coming off an injury.
“He actually has been very upbeat the whole time, but this last couple of weeks I have seen a little bit of a different bounce in his step.”
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