The Arizona Cardinals announced that Kyler Murray will be out for Week 9 against the Cleveland Browns. Backup quarterback Joshua Dobbs will be the starter in Murray’s absence. Murray is considered ‘day-to-day.’
The Arizona Cardinals starting QB is still recovering from last year’s injury.
Kyler tore his right ACL on the opening drive in Week 14 against the New England Patriots on Monday Night Football. Arizona placed him on the injured reserve and missed the rest of the season. He was 3-8, throwing for 2,368 yards, 66.4% completion percentage, 6.1 yards per attempt, 14 passing touchdowns, and seven interceptions. Murray had 418 rushing yards on 67 carries and three touchdowns.
Arizona hired Jonathan Gannon as the Head Coach and Monti Ossenfort as the General Manager. Since Arizona has a new regime, they are not obligated to keep Kyler as their starting QB. Arizona didn’t trade him during the offseason, primarily because he was injured.
Arizona placed him on the PUP list to start the season. They designated him for return from the PUP list on October 18th, opening a 21-day window for him to practice before they can activate him off the PUP list.
Arizona will continue to play their backup.
The Tennessee Titans moved on from Joshua Dobbs after missing out on the playoffs. The Cleveland Browns signed Dobbs to compete for the backup job to Deshaun Watson. Dobbs competed against Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Kellen Mond.
After losing the backup spot to Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Cleveland traded Dobbs and a 2024 seventh-round pick to Arizona in exchange for a 2024 fifth-round pick before the start of the season.
Joshua Dobbs competed with rookie Clayton Tune for the starting job on short notice. Dobbs ended up defeating Tune for the starting QB spot a few days before Week 1.
Dobbs is having a solid season with Arizona. He is 167/266 for 1,569 yards, 62.8% completion percentage, 5.9 yards per attempt, eight passing touchdowns, and five interceptions with a 1-7 record.
Are there any risks of playing Murray this season?
There is a risk of Kyler Murray getting injured this season. Arizona will be on the hook for his guaranteed money if he suffers a serious injury because of the injury guarantee clause. If he gets injured, Arizona will have to pay his $56 million in guarantees and the possibility of reaching $92 million.
What will Arizona do with Kyler?
Arizona has no plans of shopping for Kyler Murray right now. The NFL Trade Deadline is on this Tuesday. Teams have until 4 p.m. Eastern Time to trade for players.
Kyler signed a 5-year, $230.5 million contract during the 2022 offseason. He will be a free agent after the 2028 season.
As of right now, Arizona has the 1st pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. The 2024 draft class is loaded with quarterback talent. Arizona could end up trading away Kyler Murray this offseason and draft their QB of the future.
CORRECTION: The Cardinals will bench Josh Dobbs for Week 9. Murray or Tune will start in Week 9.
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