The Return Is Now

The Arizona Cardinals have officially activated QB, Kyler Murray, to the active 53 man roster.  Barring no setbacks, Kyler is slated to make his first start of the 2023 season at home this Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons.  The last time Kyler faced the Falcons he had 372 total yards and 3 TD with a passer rating of 128.

Kyler Murray returned to practice for the first time since tearing his ACL 3 weeks ago.  Once returning to practice, the Cardinals had a 21 day window to add him to the active 53 man roster.  If the Cardinals failed to activate him in the 21 day window Kyler would have been out the remainder of this season.  Up until this week it was unclear if Kyler was getting any first team reps with the offense because in the open portion of practices he was only seen throwing to the practice squad receivers and tight ends.  

That all changed this week with him being listed as QB1 on the Cardinals depth chart.  Head Coach Jonathan Gannon would not come out directly and say that Kyler was going to start this week saying “He’ll take the one reps and if all goes well, he’ll start.”  Considering that rookie Clayton Tune only completed 55% of his passes last week for 58 yards and 2 INT, and the Cardinals lost to the Browns 27-0, I like the chances that he starts on Sunday, barring an injury in practice.

Since Kyler tore his ACL the Cardinals have gone 1-12 dating back to last season without him. The year before Kyler Murray was drafted, 2018, the Cardinals went 3-13 which landed them the number 1 pick in the NFL Draft. This season, the Cardinals are off to a 1-8 start and currently hold the number 1 pick once again. It seems pretty obvious to me that Kyler Murray is pretty valuable to the Arizona Cardinals and their long term future success.  

Kyler Murray won the Rookie of the Year Award in 2019 and went to the Pro Bowl in 2020 and 2021.  Meanwhile, he was also in the MVP conversation briefly in 2020, and was a favorite for the award in 2021 when the Cardinals got off to a 10-2 start.  I expect Kyler to pick up where he left off on Sunday and prove the haters and the doubters wrong once again, showing why he is one of the most dynamic and talented QBs in the league.