The Arizona Cardinals made an announcement on their plans for quarterback Kyler Murray that puts his season in jeopardy before next week’s NFL-imposed deadline. The Cardinals brought Murray back to practice on Oct. 18. He was medically cleared to play before last week’s game, but the team chose not to activate him.
The Cardinals traded away Joshua Dobbs, who was the team’s starting quarterback with Murray rehabbing, to the Minnesota Vikings. The Cardinals announced rookie Clayton Tune would start Sunday. The Cardinals announced Murray’s activation Saturday.
The Arizona Cardinals make a questionable decision at QB
According to Ian Rapoport with the NFL Network, the Cardinals will not activate Murray Saturday.
Now official: #AZCardinals QB Kyler Murray won’t be activated today by the 4 pm deadline, sources say. Clayton Tune starts, with Kyler Murray set for next week. https://t.co/tR0UO0hRYX
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 4, 2023
As Adam Schefter with ESPN notes, the Cardinals have a deadline for his 21-day practice window to activate Murray next week, or he will be lost for the season.
Cardinals are not activating QB Kyler Murray off the PUP list by today’s 4 pm deadline, making him ineligible to play Sunday vs. the Browns. His 21-day window to be activated ends next week. This week, rookie QB Clayton Tune is expected to start vs. the Browns and QB Jeff Driskel…
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 4, 2023
There’s no reason why Murray has not been activated before the Cardinals’ Week 9 game against the Cleveland Browns. Murray is healthy enough to be on the active roster, even if the Cardinals choose to say he’s not familiar enough with the new offense to play.
The Cardinals’ decision here seems to be about tanking. The team has one more week to make their final decision on Murray. But the decision not to activate him Saturday doesn’t make the Cardinals organization look like they’re on the up and up.
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