Odegard: Kyler Murray’s Absence Proving His Value to Cardinals

I thought it would be a good idea for Clayton Tune to start on Sunday against the Browns so the Cardinals could gauge his potential backup ability in 2024.

Well… now we know.

The Cardinals will need to tap into the veteran signal-caller market in the offseason to find a serviceable fill-in for Kyler Murray, because Tune showed he’s not close to ready for that gig, and may never be.

The rookie fifth-round pick went 11-of-20 for 58 yards with two interceptions, a lost fumble and seven sacks in a 27-0 loss. His Total QBR of 1.6 was the worst among any quarterback in the NFL this season.

Recently-traded Joshua Dobbs, meanwhile, finished with the highest QBR in the league this week by rallying the Vikings to a win over the Falcons – immediately after finishing bottom-8 in Total QBR in four consecutive starts with the Cardinals.

Which brings us to this: has Kyler Murray been propping up the Cardinals more than we realized?

While there has been a lot of criticism about his playoff performance in 2021, it’s beginning to look like a minor miracle he even got them there.

In 2018, before Murray’s arrival, Arizona was historically inept on offense and finished with the worst record in the NFL. This year, they are 1-8 without him, again the worst record in the NFL.

Murray has missed 16 games over the past two years, mostly because of the torn ACL, and in that span Arizona is 2-14. There was a time during the Bruce Arians era that the Cardinals could compete when Carson Palmer went down with an injury, but the current iteration comes to a screeching halt without Murray.

Last year was a slog even with him on the field, but man, at least the Cardinals were watchable. They went 3-7 in those games and in all but one of the losses the margin was 10 points or less.

And before that, Murray lifted the Cardinals from the dregs to one of the most exciting teams in the league.

As we look back at all the mistakes made by former General Manager Steve Keim and the uninspiring offensive scheme of Kliff Kingsbury, it tells us that Murray may be even more valuable than we’ve given him credit for.

And, well, it’s time to find out.

Murray is widely expected to make a return to the field on Sunday against the Falcons, and while it may take a bit of time to trust the knee and settle into the system, it should prove to be a momentous upgrade from the slop we’ve seen of late.

Despite the recent struggles, offensive coordinator Drew Petzing has done some really creative stuff in his first year in Arizona, and should be able to open the playbook fully once Murray has his feet under him.

Dobbs had a problem putting touch on his deep ball, but Murray is one of the best in the business at that.

Tune couldn’t get past his first read or evade pressure, and Murray can do both.

The bar isn’t to be better than a pair of backup quarterbacks, of course. Murray needs to be a star again to get this rebuild heading on the right track.

But his absence has proved just how lost this team is without him.

The Cardinals have a lot of work to do this offseason, as the gaping holes on the roster are becoming more apparent by the week.

And this was probably a good thing in the long run, because it allowed GM Monti Ossenfort to see the issues laid bare.

But Murray has covered up deficiencies before, and beginning on Sunday, it’s time for him to do it again.

If his long-awaited return to the field is a promising one, it will feed life into the fans of a 1-8 football team.

It will also remind them that there has been a lot of bad football played in Arizona over the years, and that his presence tends to make those disaster viewings disappear.