GLENDALE, Ariz. – Kyler Murray is used to teammates crowding around him in celebration. In fact, this happened earlier this season after a Week 2 win in Las Vegas, a game Murray won for the Cardinals in the final minutes. “You special, bro,” running back James Conner told him on the field.
But the scene Monday night was different. The game against the Patriots had just started, three plays old. Murray ran right. He tried to cut. A knee buckled. The fourth-year quarterback stayed on the State Farm Stadium turf. Teammates surrounded Murray and took a knee.
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The Cardinals entered this season with postseason hopes. Instead, it’s been one head-shaking moment after another. A suspension of their top receiver. An injury-riddled offensive line. An assistant coach was dismissed after allegedly acting inappropriately before a game in Mexico City.
This was the latest.
“You lose your starter on the third play of the game,” coach Kliff Kingsbury said. “Non-contact. It’s just tough to watch.”
Kingsbury said he would know more Tuesday about the severity of Murray’s injury. The Cardinals, however, already seemed to understand what was coming.
“You never want to see that happen to anybody,” backup quarterback Colt McCoy said.
“Something freaky,” left tackle Josh Jones said.
“Anytime you see a non-contact injury, you know it’s worse (than a minor injury) right away,” receiver DeAndre Hopkins said.
Without Murray, the Cardinals had little chance, losing 27-13 to the Patriots — their third loss in a row. Their playoff hopes aren’t completely dashed, but their reality has been in stone for weeks. This is a team that has not won back-to-back games. A team that’s beaten itself. A team that’s 1-7 at home and 4-9 overall.
Until Monday night, these final weeks were mostly about one thing: Murray’s development. And that’s why this hurts Arizona so much. It not only affects the Cardinals this season but also potentially in the early weeks of next season as well.
In some ways, this has been the challenge from the time the Cardinals drafted Murray with the top pick in 2019. They progressed from five wins to eight wins to 11 over the quarterback’s first three seasons. Everything was on schedule. Last summer, Arizona signed Murray to a five-year contract extension worth $230.5 million, a deal that will soon make Murray among the league’s highest-paid quarterbacks. This was it — the future, locked up.
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It started a little rocky.
During training camp, Murray had to defend his study habits because word leaked that Arizona had included an independent study clause in his contract that required him to study game film for four hours a week on his own. The episode made national headlines and embarrassed both sides. The Cardinals removed the addendum.
More adversity hit once the season started. Murray had great moments – the plays he made to force overtime against the Raiders were incredible — just not nearly enough. Then there were his public interactions with Kingsbury. In an Oct. 20 win over the New Orleans Saints, Murray sparred with the head coach, memorably telling him to calm down in colorful language after Kingsbury had to burn a timeout with the Cardinals near the goal line.
For most of the season, Murray has looked like a quarterback trying to catch up to lofty expectations — and not quite getting there. This has not been all his fault. Injuries and personnel issues have killed the Cardinals. Hopkins missed the season’s first six games for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing substances. Marquise Brown, the team’s key offseason acquisition, missed five games with a foot injury. Tight end Zach Ertz tore up his knee. The offensive line has started nine combinations. The line lost position coach Sean Kugler after the alleged Mexico City incident.
There are better ways to build offensive chemistry.
But throughout the chaos, Murray always had the power – the talent – to at least quiet the noise. To let fans know that while this season was lost, next season would be better. That he was the franchise QB and that franchise QBs lift organizations. He had the last five weeks of the regular season to prove as much. The Cardinals didn’t have Ertz, a three-time Pro Bowl selection, but they had Hopkins and Brown. They had Conner in the backfield.
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Murray opened Monday with a 9-yard pass to Conner. He then handed off to Conner for 6 yards. On first down from the Arizona 41, Murray looked to pass but felt pressure. He bolted right. He stumbled. He didn’t get up.
Arizona linebacker Isaiah Simmons, safety Chris Banjo, defensive lineman J.J. Watt, linebacker Ezekiel Turner and others surrounded Murray and took a knee. A medical cart drove onto the field. Trainers loaded Murray onto the back. Players from both sides patted the quarterback’s shoulder pads. Murray pulled a white towel over his head.
“It sucks for Kyler,” said McCoy, who likely will replace Murray the rest of the way. “We’ve been together for two years. We’ve worked together every day. I don’t ever want to see anything like that happen. I know how much he cares about the game. I know how hard he works. It’s just unfortunate.”
(Top photo: Ross D. Franklin / Associated Press)
