Cardinals’ Kyler Murray era speeding toward point of no return

TEMPE — From close to returning, to on the shelf, to who knows.

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray’s oddly evolving status over the last three weeks got a whole lot clearer Wednesday with the team’s decision to place him on injured reserve. And with that news came the clarity that Arizona is riding with backup Jacoby Brissett.

The back and forth as to whether or not Murray will start can take a backseat for at least the next four weeks.

However, the back and forth as to whether or not he’ll return as the starter in 2025 and beyond is more relevant than ever.

Missing at least the next four games, Murray’s closest return to play date is Week 14 against the Los Angeles Rams. That’s a best-case scenario and would leave five games for Murray to play this season.

And at that point, the season will likely have gone one of two ways:

1. Brissett and the offense continue their upward trajectory, helping turn the season around and putting the Cardinals back in the playoff chase.

It’s a possibility — even with the toughest remaining strength of schedule — given what Brissett has done under center.

Arizona’s offense may not have the knockout run game it’s had in recent seasons, but it’s making up for it behind the veteran’s arm and football IQ.

The team’s chances of making the playoffs sit at 7% as of Thursday morning, according to ESPN’s projections. The Athletic has less optimistic 4% odds.

2. The Cardinals can’t dig out of the hole they put themselves in after a five-game losing streak earlier in the year.

The offense falls off under Brissett, leaving the defense out to dry and the Cardinals well short of their playoff aspirations.

Either way, getting Murray back in the lineup doesn’t make much sense.

This year was already a make-or-break season for the polarizing QB.

Fail to meet heightened expectations, and major changes were inbound, starting with the franchise signal caller with zero playoff wins in seven seasons, who hasn’t lived up to his massive contract.

At least from an individual standpoint, Murray hasn’t taken that next step many expected with more time on task in offensive coordinator Drew Petzing’s offense and plenty of continuity.

His five-game stint this season left a lot to be desired. Third downs felt like a death sentence, explosives were few and far between, and the connection with Marvin Harrison Jr. wasn’t nearly as consistent as it was billed to be in the offseason.

Brissett’s successful three-game stretch that included a leap forward in all the things missing from Murray’s time at the helm in 2025 has only magnified those issues.

Not once under Murray has Arizona been 50% or better on third down this year. Brissett has helped lead the team to a 56% mark, with plenty of long conversions to boot.

Call the bomb squad because explosives have been another common occurrence under Brissett, with 13 passing plays of 20 or more yards through three games. With Murray, that number was just seven across five contests. Brissett is also averaging 7.7 yards per attempt compared to Murray’s six.

Trey McBride is scoring touchdowns at a career rate, with a career-high four in the past three games alone.

He’s had no more than three in a season with Murray calling the shots.

Speaking of Harrison Jr., he had never seen seven catches in a game until this year’s Monday Night Football win over Dallas despite the added reps and built-up chemistry with Murray.

Brissett made getting the young wideout involved look easy.

And if the Cardinals really are heading to a split with Murray, they’re going to want to at least try to recoup something in return before outright cutting him.

Seeing a strong finish to the season would be nice in building his value, but can we really expect that given the sample size that was already on display this year?

Not only would a poor showing from Murray hurt his trade value in the offseason — suffering another injury would tank it.

Don’t burn a bridge before really testing it out first and seeing where it might take you. And we all know how much general manager Monti Ossenfort covets draft capital.

And don’t think releasing Murray isn’t on the table, especially if Brissett continues to lead this team in the right direction.

Sure, there would be a hefty dead money hit of $54.7 million, but as ESPN’s Dan Graziano pointed out, the Denver Broncos were on the hook even more ($80 million) with Russell Wilson’s release and have come out of the other side in a better place, led by a new franchise quarterback.

At some point, Arizona’s got to just take its losses. Seven seasons of largely underwhelming football is more than enough time. Let the new regime handpick the quarterback of the future and move on.

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