Arizona Cardinals QB Murray Could Miss Beginning of the Season

The Arizona Cardinals' nightmare 2022 could have ramifications that extend into the 2023 season. Head coach Kliff Kingsbury told reporters Wednesday that he doesn't expect Kyler Murray to be ready for the season opener.

Kliff Kingsbury said Kyler Murray “probably” won’t be ready to start the 2023 season.

That was a main reason why Arizona wanted to shut down Colt McCoy for the rest of the season and avoid anymore set backs or injuries.
— Josh Weinfuss (@joshweinfuss) January 4, 2023

Murray tore his ACL in the first quarter of the Cardinals' Week 14 23-17 loss to the New England Patriots. Even before his injury, the Cardinals and Murray had struggled through a miserable season: the fourth-year passer won only three of his 11 starts while throwing for career-lows in passing yards per game (215.3) and passer rating (87.2).

Timelines for recoveries from ACL range wildly. The Cardinals are right to exercise caution. Similarly mobile Washington Commanders quarterback Robert Griffin III derailed his career by trying to come back too quickly from an ACL tear suffered in the Wildcard Round following the 2012 season. He led the Commanders to the fourth-most points in the league as a rookie while managing an impressive 102.4 passer rating, both of which are better marks than Murray has achieved so far in his young career. Griffin declined steeply in his comeback season and never attained such lofty heights again.