Kyler Murray’s career with the Cardinals has been anything but smooth. Riddled with injuries and constant skepticism over his commitment to The Valley, Murray’s return for the 2023 season is one of anticipation.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!In his rookie season, the Cardinals went 5-10-1 and finished fourth in the NFC West, failing to make the postseason. It was not until Murray’s third year with the Cardinals that they would have a winning season and make the playoffs in a Wild Card loss against the Rams.
Coming off of their successful 2021 season, the 2022 season took a turn for the worse when Murray tore his ACL on Dec. 12. With backup quarterback Colt McCoy taking the reins for the remainder of the season, the Cardinals lost their last seven games and finished 4-13.
In the midst of all this, Murray was undergoing contract negotiations with the Cardinals and a full blown standoff erupted as Murray unfollowed the Arizona team on social media and removed any content on his page that involved the Cardinals.
Seemingly moving on from the team, the drama subsided shortly after as he signed a five-year contract extension worth $230.5 million. A contract that included a clause requiring Murray to watch a set amount of hours of game film each week.
After the contract was exposed to the public, fans became worried that Murray was not taking his role as Cardinals’ quarterback seriously and the deal received an immense amount of backlash and criticism. So much so, that the clause was eventually dropped from the contract.
Although Murray has only put together one winning season since his arrival in 2019, his absence on the field during the remainder of the 2022 season was noticeable. The Cardinals finished with their worst record since his arrival.
Whether fans hope to see the return of their franchise quarterback or not, it doesn’t look like they will be seeing Murray hit the field until mid-season. The Athletic reports that Murray’s return is expected between weeks four and five of the regular season.
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Taylyn Hadley is a sports and general assignment reporter for Burn City Sports. You can follow her on X via @TAYLYNH11.
