Among the many quarterbacks around the NFL who are under pressure heading into the 2025 season, Arizona Cardinals signal-caller Kyler Murray may be the most interesting case. On one hand, Murray is unquestionably exciting, and he’s flashed the capability of being a productive, winning player when he’s at 100 percent health. But a 36-45-1 career record doesn’t lie. It’s a black mark on the resume of the 1st overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
It may come as a surprise because of his diminutive stature or his bearded babyface, but Murray is already entering his seventh NFL season. He’s a seasoned vet by any calculation, especially when you consider the last two quarterbacks the Cardinals had selected in the 1st Round of the NFL Draft lasted a combined five seasons in Arizona.
One of those QB’s, Josh Rosen, was the 10th overall pick only a year before the Cards picked Kyler Murray. The other, Matt Leinart, was the 10th overall pick in 2006 after completing one of the most successful collegiate careers ever while at USC. Almost 20 years later, Leinart is out of the NFL but he still talks football for a living. And in an exclusive interview with DJ Siddiqi of The Escapist Magazine, Leinart weighed in on what Murray needs to show Arizona this season.
“Kyler Murray, it’s time. You’ve been a franchise guy there for a long time. You’ve shown enough flashes where you can be special. He has to put it together this year,” Leinart told Siddiqi. “I just can’t figure it out with Kyler. It feels like it’s time. It’s time to take that next step.”
Leinart started only 17 games for the Cardinals in his four seasons with the team. He went 7-10 in those contests, and was eventually replaced by Kurt Warner, who went on to experience a career rejuvenation with Arizona. Unfortunately, the Cardinals don’t have a former league and Super Bowl MVP backing up Murray. All of their chips are in the metaphorical Kyler Murray basket.
Leinart Suggests Marvin Harrison Jr. Needs to Step Up
While Murray remains the Cardinals’ only good option at quarterback in 2025 — with all due respect to Jacoby Brissett — he does have a few good options to disperse the ball to this season. Fourth-year star Trey McBride was one of the league’s top pass-catching tight ends in 2024, and he figures to pick up where he left off during the 2025 season.
The player that the Cardinals have the most invested in is Marvin Harrison Jr., who Arizona spent the 4th overall pick on in the 2024 NFL Draft. But traditional rookie standards, Harrison had an above average season in his first NFL campaign. 62 receptions for 885 yards and 8 touchdowns is nothing to scoff at.
But Harrison wasn’t supposed to be a traditional rookie receiver. He was expected to come into the NFL and take the league by storm. That didn’t happen, and as a result, now there’s nearly as much pressure on Harrison to take the next step as there is on Murray.
“I want to see a better connection with him and Marvin Harrison Jr,” Leinart added. “That last year was a little bit interesting with rookie growing pains. There’s so many — I’m not going to point (fingers) — there’s just so many things that go on in a team and on offense or defense and players. Sometimes it just takes time to mesh, and I think we need to see that in year two.”
Tw0-Headed Ground Attack Could Take Pressure Off Murray
Beyond McBride and Harrison, there isn’t much for Murray to work with in the passing game. But Arizona’s run game could continue to provide Kyler and the Cardinals offense with a big boost. Last season, the Cards ranked 2nd in yards per rush and 7th in total rushing yards. For good measure, they also ranked in the top ten in rushing touchdowns.
Most of that work was done by bell-cow back James Conner and Murray himself, who added 572 yards on the ground on over 7 yards per carry. This year, the Cards could end up getting a more involved Trey Benson, and Murray is all for it.
“I think this will be a big breakout year for Trey,” Murray told reporters back on August 9. “I think it’s just confidence and then reps, and letting the game slow down for him, and just continuing to play more football,” Murray added. “The more football he’s gonna play, the better he’s gonna be.”
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