Kyler Murray’s injury situation gets worse, but it could actually help the Cardinals get back in playoff race

The quarterback controversy continues with a major twist for the Cardinals.

Josh Taylor — Washington Commanders News Writer
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The Arizona Cardinals are coming off a much-needed win against the Dallas Cowboys on the road, after a painful stretch of five straight very close losses.

The win comes with controversy, however, and Cardinals’ head coach Jonathan Gannon didn’t want to address the elephant in the room after the Cowboys game, but he had no choice. Days after saying that nothing had changed with Kyler Murray being the starting quarterback, his mood drastically shifted.

Gannon changed his mind that Jacoby Brissett will be the starting quarterback moving forward, but the quarterback saga took yet another twist today that has short-term and long-term implications.

Kyler Murray is headed to the IR to recover

Monday night, Gannon said Murray was still the starting quarterback, then it changed to Brissett becoming the starter again on Tuesday, and now the Cardinals announced that Murray is headed to IR to fully recover from his foot sprain.

“Kyler’s going to go on IR,” Gannon said. “Feel like that’s the best thing for him and for us. He’s not fully healthy and ready to go yet, so that makes the most sense. Obviously, that’s a change. But we just felt, looking at it right now, that’s the best thing from him and for us, like I just said. He’s fully committed. Right now, what he’s gonna concentrate on is getting healthy. He’s not healthy enough to play. He needs to get healthy so he can get back to playing football. So that’s what we’re doing.”

The move is, in fact, best for both parties because Murray needs to get healthy, and Brissett is playing at a high level right now and has the hot hand for the team. The Cardinals look like a team that can steal a wild-card spot with Brissett at quarterback, and the offense has been playing much better in the last few weeks since he took over. The team has full belief in Brissett as well.

The Cardinals can steal a playoff spot

The Cardinals might be 3-5, but they looked like a complete team against the Cowboys, and their schedule allows them to collect some impressive wins to possibly steal the final spot in the NFL race. If they can beat the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers over the next two weeks, they’re very much alive for playoff hopes. Murray resting up gives Brissett a chance to ride this season out without having to deal with this distraction every week on who will start.

If Brissett starts to struggle at the end, however, Murray could be healthy enough to return and finish the run if the Cardinals are still in contention by that point. Deciding to send Murray to IR clears any controversy and allows him to focus on recovering for the long haul.

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