Cardinals taking day-by-day approach with Kyler Murray, Zach Ertz

GLENDALE — Quarterback Kyler Murray and tight end Zach Ertz are two of the biggest pieces of the Arizona Cardinals offense and have spent the majority of the offseason grinding to get back from season-ending knee injuries suffered in the latter half of 2022.

And while the duo — in addition to rookie BJ Ojulari — were placed on the physically unable to perform list ahead of training camp kicking off on Wednesday, there is at least some optimism the three players could make an appearance before camp comes to a close.

“I’ve liked how (Murray’s) progressing, I love the plan that we have moving forward,” head coach Jonathan Gannon said of his franchise QB on Wednesday. “He did an excellent job this summer. That’s an injury that kind of goes (up and down). He has some really good days, he has some bad days, too. Just like anybody else that went through that injury. He’s locked in, excited.

“We’ll see. I’m taking it day by day honestly,” the head coach added when asked about the potential of Murray returning to the fold during camp. “I feel like if we attack each day and get a little bit better each day and let the chips fall where they fall.”

He may not have been able to participate in practice, but that didn’t keep Murray from taking in the action from the sideline and alongside coaches, a common occurrence this offseason while the signal caller continues his rehab.

And just because he wasn’t out there slinging the rock with his teammates, doesn’t mean the progress he’s made has fallen to the wayside in the minds of his peers.

“The man looks incredible. He came back from the last time I seen him in mid-June to what I see now, incredible,” running back James Conner said Wednesday. “He’s been working. I just love it, because sometimes when you go through a breakthrough, you have to go through a breakdown. I know he’s never really been through something like that before.

“Just so proud of him and the way he’s responded to it physically, what I see what his body looks like and then just regular conversation where his head is at, where his mindset is at. I got no doubt about Kyler.”

Ertz meanwhile came to training camp very much prepared to conquer the rest of his rehabilitation.

In addition to making noticeable improvement, the veteran tight end entered the new year with a blueprint for his return.

“Normally you give a guy a plan. He gave us his plan,” Gannon said. “You can tell he’s so thought out and he’s such a pro and so intelligent. That’s not to say that plan might not change here and there, but he’s day by day and champing at the bit, too … I just love that he’s so on top of it and he’s already thought about it as much as we’ve thought about it and probably more.”

Ojulari on the other hand was a somewhat surprise addition to the PUP list on Wednesday as he continues to deal with a knee injury suffered pre-draft.

Despite the designation, the Cardinals feel the rookie linebacker, who was a nonparticipant for much of Arizona’s offseason workouts, will see the field sooner rather than later.

“He had a little nick between the NFL Combine and draft process,” Gannon said. “It was one of those things where there were a bunch of different options to kind of go. We decided to have a little a procedure to get it fixed, so we’re going to be smart with him knowing that we didn’t want to have a reoccurring issue with him or the possibility of that happening as we got going during the season.

“We decided to clean it up a little bit. You’ll see him out there at camp. He started obviously on PUP but you’ll see him pretty soon.”

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