Per a report from NFL insider Ian Rapaport, Arizona Cardinals’ head coach Jonathan Gannon has confirmed that quarterback Kyler Murray will not play again for the remainder of this season.
Murray sustained a foot injury in week five, which is the last time he played. After getting more testing done, the Cardinals have determined that his foot isn’t healing at the rate they’d like it to, leading to his shutdown.
Murray had thrown for 962 yards and six touchdowns while completing 68 percent of his passes before the injury. He had gotten the Cardinals off to an unexpectedly strong start to the season before the injury occurred.
Since Murray’s injury, journeyman Jacoby Brissett has filled in and has performed well, though it’s mostly been for naught as Arizona is sitting at 3-9. Brissett has bounced around six NFL teams in his 10 years in the league and is putting up some of the better numbers of his career with 2,188 passing yards and 13 touchdown passes in seven games, though the Cardinals are 1-6 in that time.
Attention Turns Towards 2026 For Murray
Arizona head coach Jonathan Gannon was asked on Friday whether he thought Murray would be his team’s starting quarterback next season. The third-year HC with the Cardinals deflected the question, responding by saying “I’m worried about the Rams now, honestly.”
Murray still has three years left on his contract in Arizona, with a potential opt-out after the 2027 season. Though he’s under contract, speculation has risen that Murray is simply not the quarterback of the future in Arizona.
In his seven years with the Cardinals, the team has made the playoffs just once, back in 2022 when they were ousted in their first game against the Los Angeles Rams, 34-11.
It’s not that Murray is a bad quarterback, but three of his last four seasons have been cut short due to injury and he hasn’t reached the height that Arizona expected when they selected him first overall in the 2019 Draft.
It may just be time for a new play caller in Arizona.
Cardinals Poised For High Draft Pick In 2026
At 3-9 after week 13 of the NFL season, Arizona is in line for the No. 8 overall pick in next year’s NFL Draft. That pick is almost undoubtedly going to rise, as the Cardinals could very easily lose each of their remaining five games this season.
They’ll play the NFC leading Rams twice, the streaking Cincinnati Bengals and Houston Texans once, and the scrappy Falcons once as well.
The Cardinals will have to make a decision on Kyler Murray’s future before the draft, because they’ll be in line to select a top quarterback if that is the path they choose to go down. The Athletic’s latest mock draft has Arizona selecting Texas Tech edge rusher David Bailey with the No. 8 overall pick, though if their selection moves up with a few more losses, that pick would be likely to change.
The quarterback draft class isn’t amazing but there are three prospects with first round grades: Fernando Mendoza from Indiana, Dante Moore of Oregon, and Ty Simpson of Alabama. Any of these guys could be the future of the Arizona Cardinals if Murray is indeed on his way out the door.
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