Kyler Reminder: Murray Proves The Cardinals Already Have Their Franchise Quarterback

The difference between a win and loss in the NFL can be razor thin.

Or in the Cardinals’ case against the Falcons, blindingly fast.

Kyler Murray punctuated his return to action on Sunday with a play only few can make, evading multiple defenders and scrambling nearly 70 yards to turn a would-be game-closing sack into a first down.

One deep ball connection with Trey McBride later, and the Cardinals were set up for their 25-23 win over Atlanta.

It’s not often a state is buzzing about a 2-8 football team, but Arizona is excited about the future of the Cardinals, and deservedly so.

GM Monti Ossenfort has done a great job setting the team up for future success by accumulating draft picks and clearing bad salaries, while coach Jonathan Gannon has kept the team more competitive than anyone thought in 2023.

And the most important piece was on display Sunday: Murray, in his first game back from a torn ACL, showed no ill effects of the serious knee injury, and instead looked like a star.

He finished 19-of-32 for 249 yards with no touchdowns and an interception. Those numbers aren’t particularly glowing on the surface, but the yards per attempt sat at an impressive 7.8, and would have been even higher if he didn’t miss Hollywood Brown in the end zone by mere inches, or if Elijah Higgins caught an easy pass for a 25-yard gain.

And the explosiveness was all the way back in his debut, a shocking development and one that speaks to Murray’s hard work behind the scenes.

He finished with six carries for 33 yards and a touchdown, while also evading sacks and keeping plays alive much of the afternoon. Murray hit 20.17 mph on his long scramble, a faster speed than in any run last year.

Murray officially ended one bogus national media narrative on Sunday by returning to the field, and unofficially squashed the likelihood of another with his play.

From ESPN’s Dan Graziano to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, there has been a steady drumbeat that the Cardinals will be looking to move on at the end of the season and rebuild their team with a rookie quarterback like Caleb Williams and Drake Maye.

Graziano even termed it ‘likely’ after discussions with NFL sources, but after Sunday’s game, a trade seems about as ‘likely’ as me taking over as Cardinals quarterback in 2024.

The relationship between Murray and the new staff has been fantastic from the jump, and there have been discussions from all parties about future plans. 

While the outside noise has been non-stop, the messaging inside the building has always been the same: we want to build this thing around you.

Murray reminded us why the new regime is so excited about him on Sunday, throwing lasers into tight windows and running away from defensive backs, and it’s a skillset that is unreplicated in the NFL.

Yes, Murray has a big contract, but can anyone argue his value to the Cardinals after watching the Browns game a week earlier and then the win over the Falcons?

He completely changes the offense by being on the field, and having a no-doubt franchise quarterback at the helm guarantees perennial competitiveness, which has been hard to find in the history of this organization.

If the Cardinals finish with a top-2 pick, they could feasibly trade Murray and roll the dice with Williams or Maye. But it would be a big dead cap hit and wouldn’t address all the roster holes that have sunk this team to the NFL basement.

No, the clear choice would be to keep Murray and trade down, beginning the process of adding other long-term building blocks for a shot at contention in the near future.

We’ve seen MVP-level play from Kyler when the talent around him is strong, and we’ve seen him carry the Cardinals when the pieces around him are weak.

Year 4 was a struggle. No one denies that.

But he was on a star trajectory the first three seasons and has become reinvigorated with a new coaching staff in place in 2023. Plus, Murray looked like a natural in Drew Petzing’s scheme on Sunday, putting to bed questions about his ability to play in a more standard NFL offense.

All this trade discussion will probably be moot by January anyway.

Why?

The Cardinals are already down to fourth in the draft order, and Murray will likely get the Cardinals a few more victories before the year is up.

The rookie quarterback chatter will be extinguished, and the hype about a long-term vision with Murray at the core will only be beginning.