The Arizona Cardinals went into training camp this year with what they considered a very good quarterback room.
Veteran Kyler Murray was finally healthy, GM Monti Ossenfort had brought in journeyman Jacoby
Brissett as an experienced backup on the same day that he inked DT Dalvin Tomlinson, and former fifth-round draft pick Clayton Tune had been a holdover for the season before. Desmond Ridder was gone.
RELATED: CARDINALS – COWBOYS REACTIONS
At the conclusion of training camp, Tune was waived, and Kedon Slovis was signed to the practice squad after he was released on the final cutdown from the Houston Texans. He was later elevated after Murray became injured with an ankle issue in the loss to the Tennessee Titans.
As we all know, Brissett has been under center ever since. Murray was thought to be ready to return to the field, but after the win over the Dallas Cowboys in Week 9, doctors determined that his ankle needed more time to heal. So, the franchise placed him on IR. He will remain on this list for a minimum of four weeks. The timeline is 4-8 weeks.
Brissett came to the Cardinals on a two-year deal. Ossenfort must have been psychic, giving a backup QB more than the traditional one-year deal. Now, Brissett may go into next year’s training camp as the starter, the backup to Murray, or at the very least, in a fair competition for the starting role.
But some don’t believe that if – and when – Murray returns, his starting job just might be in limbo.
The unwritten rule in sports is that you can’t lose your job to an injury. In theory, that is. But it happens more frequently than you realize to quarterbacks.
In 1963, QB Jim Ninowski of the Cleveland Browns injured his shoulder, and backup Frank Ryan took over. When Nino was healed and ready, new Browns head coach Blanton Collier kept Ryan as his starter, and he was the starting QB in the 1964 NFL Championship Game that Cleveland won 27-0.
QB Drew Bledsoe had been the first overall draft pick, named to the Pro Bowl three times, and had just signed a then-record 10-year, $103 million contract. During a game in 2001, he injured a hemothorax that had him bleeding a pint of blood an hour. He missed games, and upon his return, backup Tom Brady had already convinced the coaches that Bledsoe was no longer in charge.
In 2005, Minnesota Vikings QB Dante Culpepper tore his MCL, ACL, and PCL in Week 7. Backup Brad Johnson then went 7-2 and played very well. He set a team record for lowest interception-to-attempt ratio (1.3%), which was the lowest in the NFL among starting QBs. He was named the Vikings’ starting quarterback the following year despite Culpepper’s presence.
Which circles back to the Cardinals.
Already, fans and the media are pointing to the fact that Brissett is playing better than Murray, and the offense has completely changed when he is directing the offense.
Arizona’s head coach, Jonathan Gannon, keeps stating that Murray is this team’s starting quarterback. After the Cardinals spanked the Cowboys and gave them their first home loss of the season, in the press conference afterwards, Gannon was asked twice if Murray was ready to play the following game, and he would be inserted as the starter. Each time, Gannon acknowledged that he would.
The Cardinals are 3-6-0. They have eight games remaining, and reside in the toughest division in the league. Every team except Arizona has a winning record, and it is assumed that they have missed this year’s playoffs with the loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday .
Everybody seems to have their opinion on what should happen in four weeks when Murray is completely healed and activated.
On the ESPN show, “Get Up,” their four analysts discussed the subject recently.
Host Mike Greenwood asked:
“Do you feel that Kyler Murray has started his last game with the Cardinals?”
Analyst Ryan Clark stated:
“Absolutely.”
The remainder of the hosts were attentive and appeared to want to hear what Clark had to say about this.
Clark continued:
“And sometimes you can tell by the conversations you have. I got the opportunity to speak with him, and he was like, it’s healing. But you could see in him that there wasn’t any confidence in that. Not saying that he’s still hurt or he’ll be too hurt to return.”
The white elephant in the room is that the juice surrounding Brissett is real right now.
Against Dallas, Arizona moved up and down the field at will. Even after the Cowboys blocked a punt and recovered it in the end zone to bring their team back to 10-7, the Cardinals took the ball and went 74 yards in 11 plays and scored a touchdown as if nothing fazed them in front of 92,211 home patrons and 16.2 million viewers at home.
And media folks such as Clark have noticed:
“You can tell that the tide is changing in the building. When you speak to people on that team, the superlatives they use to describe Jacoby Brissett aren’t superlatives that you should be pointing out about a leader or a quarterback. The way he leads, the way he communicates, it’s saying to me that we weren’t getting these things and now we are.”
Co-host Peter Schrager chimed in:
“A lot of the Cardinals people are just so positive and gave effusive praise of Jacoby. But I’m looking at (Murray) over there, and we’re not talking about him. Well, he’s injured. He’s got the foot issue, and he’s going on IR. The contract is tricky.”
The fact that the Cardinals’ front office has let go of other former franchise members and knows that they are in the doghouse with still owing money, is nothing new. They have been down this road before on numerous occasions.
The barricade
The roadblock is that monster contract he signed back in 2022 before Gannon and Ossenfort arrived. It was a five-year, $230.5 million contract extension to stay with the Cardinals, with $160 million guaranteed.
Murray has $36 million of guaranteed money left. He is signed through 2028, but in the final two seasons, there aren’t any more guaranteed funds owed.
Schrager explained:
“Maybe the contract is the only issue. But, in a post-Russell Wilson world where we’ll figure it out, we’ll rip the Band-Aid off and we’ll go from there. I think anything is possible, and they could move on. I will note this: this owner is still paying Kliff Kingsbury his full salary. This owner is still paying Steve Keim his full salary, a general manager who was fired two years ago. The new brass, they did not select Kyler Murray. He is not their precious item.”
It is entirely possible that the franchise could decide to move on from Murray. So far, Gannon has kept stating that Murray remains his starting quarterback and hasn’t moved off of this statement before and after his injury.
They could trade him, release Murray, or, on March 5, pay the $19.5 million in guaranteed funds that he is due. If the Cardinals release him before June 1, they would take on a $57.7 million dead cap hit. If they release him after June 1, that dead money would be split into $50.5 million in 2026 and $7.2 million in 2027.
Is a separation imminent?
All of this could be determined in the next four weeks. If Brissett and this offense can show that they can move up and down the field like they have in the first three starts, and if the Cardinals are winning games, this subject will definitely intensify. But against Seattle, the offensive line could not keep a pocket, and Brissett was not only sacked five times, but was flushed from the pocket numerous times, and fumbled twice which developed two touchdowns for the Seahawks.
Remember, Arizona under Brissett is just 1-3-0. That’s nothing to write grandma about, and without more “W’s,” this may become moot. Perhaps the Cardinals could draft a quarterback early in next year’s NFL draft, then use Brissett as the bridge and tutor for one more season.
Numbers don’t lie. With Brissett, the Cardinals are averaging 24.75 points and 351.25 yards per game. Under Murray, the offense was averaging 18.8 points and 288 yards per game with a 2-3-0 record.
It is just as possible that Brissett doesn’t play well, or the Cardinals’ offense isn’t doing any better with him under center. At least if they went back to Murray, they would be getting something for their money instead of paying him to play for someone else, plus having to fork over another salary for their own quarterback.
A trade of Murray to a team such as the New York Jets, New Orleans Saints, or the Browns would create $35.3 million in cap savings while leaving behind $17.9 million in dead money.
And this may just be what works the best for Murray. He could become next year’s Daniel Jones or Mac Jones fairy tale.
“Get Up” analyst Bart Scott echoed that sentiment:
“Sometimes, it’s just time. Kyler Murray is extremely talented. I think he’s one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the league. Now, he had to mature a little bit. And maybe a fresh start would be great for him. He can be one of these reclamation projects and one of these stories that we love.”
For now, Murray is committed to getting healthy, Gannon is counting on him to return to the field, and there are nine games left to play.
