The Arizona Cardinals will start quarterback Jacoby Brissett for the fourth straight week on Sunday, and quarterback Kyler Murray is on injured reserve.
Murray injured his ankle in Week 5 against the Tennessee Titans and has yet to play since. Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon said he was making progress after Arizona’s bye week, but then he was inactive in Week 9 against the Dallas Cowboys.
Now, with Brissett generating positivity for the offense and Murray out for at least the next four games, Murray’s future in Arizona is up in the air.
What Did Monti Ossenfort Say About Kyler Murray?
Gannon has been very coy, understandably so, about everything he’s said regarding Murray and his current status with the Cardinals.
If you take it at face value, Murray’s ankle injury was close to healing, but he aggravated it, causing a setback, and he wouldn’t be fully healthy for a month.
So, the Cardinals placed him on IR to give the team clarity on the starting quarterback and give Murray four games to heal and fully recover from his injury.
However, not many people are taking the news and what’s been said at face value.
The Cardinals started the year 2-3 with Murray, averaging just over 20 points per game. Now, Arizona is 1-2 in three games with Brissett as the starter and is averaging about 25 points per game.
Three of the Cardinals’ top five offensive performances this season have come with Brissett under center, according to PFSN’s Offensive Impact.
The offense has seen an uptick, and the passing game, in particular, has shown significant improvement. Many people believe the Cardinals are quietly benching Murray and using his injury as an excuse.
Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort recently broke his silence on the Murray situation, providing more details on the Cardinals’ plan.
“When we put a guy on IR, that’s four weeks away. A lot of things can happen between now and then,” Ossenfort said on the Wolf and Luke show. “I think Jacoby has certainly done a great job of leading our offense and we’re expecting more of the same moving forward. Jacoby’s put himself in a good spot for where we’re going offensively.
“When Kyler gets healthy – right now we know he’s going to be missing four weeks – and we’ll assess when we get to that point.”
This is really the first time anyone inside the Cardinals organization has denied Murray being the starter when fully healthy.
Previously, it was assumed that Murray would be the starter once he’s healthy. But now, it’ll be an assessment once he’s healthy. Ossenfort also gave an update on the former first-overall pick.
“Kyler right now is in the building, he’s working hard. He’s doing everything he can to get himself healthy,” Ossenfort said. “That’s where his focus is. We’re going to do everything we can to get him in a good spot to help us out come later in the season once he’s completely healthy.”
It still sounds like Ossenfort intends for Murray to play another snap in a Cardinals uniform, but again, that’s taking the words at face value.
Past that, it’s really just a waiting game to see what happens. If Brissett continues to play like he is, and the Cardinals rattle off a couple of wins, he’d likely remain the starter.
However, if Brissett begins to struggle, does that open a window for Murray once again?
There are a lot of teams that could be interested in a quarterback this offseason, and the Cardinals’ situation is one of the more intriguing ones.