Is the Kyler Murray era ending in the desert? The 28-year-old Arizona Cardinals quarterback has been out with a foot injury since Week 5 and prior to that he has shown little effectiveness for the team.
Arizona placed Murray on injured reserve ahead of their Week 10 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, meaning he's going to miss at least another three games before being considered available to return to football activities.
At this point, he's missed 22 games to injury in his NFL career which is roughly 19 percent of his Cardinals tenure. Will the front office find it worthwhile to keep him around the next two years before his club option hits?
If there's a team that should be exploring the QB draft class this coming spring (and even in 2027), it's Arizona. But that could lead to a complicated solution for Murray.
How Kyler Murray can follow the NFL trend of excelling refurbished QBs
We've all seen quarterbacks reinvigorate their careers in different destinations to where they were originally drafted. Who's to say Murray can't do the same away from Arizona? Here are the templates he could follow:
Sam Darnold
After five abysmal years with the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers, Darnold seemingly had to accept his fate as a potential career backup in San Francisco or as a journeyman. He only topped 3,000 yards once (2019) and double-digit passing touchdowns twice. Then Darnold found himself in Minnesota in 2024 and, as fate would have it, an unfortunate injury to the Vikings' rookie star QB in J.J. McCarthy provided him with the opportunity to redeem himself.
He took full advantage to say the least. 4,319 passing yards 35 touchdowns and 14 wins later, Darnold found himself in the upper echelon of NFL passers. The team's season came to a surprising premature end in the first round of the playoffs but Darnold had reestablished himself as the third-overall pick everyone thought he would be. And now with the Seattle Seahawks, he is proving last season was no fluke with 2,262 yards and 17 touchdowns already through just nine games.
Daniel Jones
The Duke product was a surprise selection by the New York Giants in 2019 but he displayed some flashes of brilliance on the field and in the stat books. He didn't play a full season until 2022 which, coincidentally, was the same year the team returned to the playoffs and won a game for the first time since Super Bowl XLVI in 2012. However, Jones couldn't beat the allegations he wasn't built for the big games. Despite only having two years with double-digit interceptions, his turnover mistakes seemed to come at the most pivotal moments in games.
While the Giants invested in him (to the chagrin of fans), they eventually parted ways mid-season in 2024 where he spent time as the backup to Darnold in Minnesota. Some of that rejuvenated energy must've rubbed off on him because he signed with the Indianapolis Colts and beat out 2024 first-round pick Anthony Richardson for the starting job and now looks more like his 2022 self with 2,659 yards and 15 touchdowns. Jones' story seems to be the most similar to Murray's. He hasn't played terribly but he just can't deliver when it matters most.
Baker Mayfield
Who knew all it would take is inheriting Tom Brady's throne to revive a QB that was written off as an immature bust? Well, for Baker Mayfield his redemption story actually started in Los Angeles with the Rams and not with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After four cringe-worthy seasons with the Cleveland Browns and a half season in Carolina, Mayfield landed with the Rams in 2022 when Matthew Stafford was injured. He led that team to the playoffs and a narrow Wild Card loss to the Lions.
That earned Mayfield an opportunity with the Buccaneers that's seen him reach career highs. He started the 2025 season on pace to run away with the MVP title and has since cooled off but to go from bust to MVP conversation is one heck of a turnaround. He's walking proof that no QB is ever defined by a single tenure.
Where could Kyler Murray wind up if Cardinals cut bait?
It's not like Murray's been a terrible QB for the Cardinals. He's thrown for over 3,700 yards four separate times yet he's only finished a year with a QBR higher than 60 in three of those seasons. He's also had to learn under two different head coaches with vastly different systems.
His best years came under Kliff Kingsbury, now the offensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders and considered a potential head coaching candidate this coming offseason. If Kingsbury lands someplace with an uncertain QB situation, could Arizona consider shipping Murray off for draft capital and in turn help him rediscover his game?
Kingsbury and Murray in Miami to replace Tua Tagovailoa and Mike McDaniel? Insanity. Murray to replace Spencer Rattler and mentor Tyler Shough under Kellen Moore in New Orleans? The potential is greater than you think.
Murray isn't a bad quarterback. He's just seemingly hit his ceiling in Arizona and could stand to benefit from a change in scenery and some new weapons to work with.