3 NFL quarterbacks who should be benched after Week 8

The ebbs and flows of an NFL season can often lead to cruel decisions when it comes to the quarterback position. While a few teams were forced to make a quarterback change due to injury this season, including Minnesota now that Kirk Cousins is feared to have torn his Achilles, performance issues are the biggest reason why a change can be made.

Injuries and poor play combined to influence this week's look at three quarterbacks who should be benched after Week 8. Let's start in Arizona, where they need to make a call about Kyler Murray soon.

3. Josh Dobbs, QB, Arizona Cardinals

This is no slight on Dobbs, who has performed admirably after being acquired right before the season to serve as Arizona's starter, but Jonathan Gannon needs to see what the Cardinals have in Murray. With a potentially franchise-defining decision awaiting them in the draft in April, having as much information as possible in terms of how Murray fits going forward makes the most sense for Arizona.

Murray, who is coming off a torn ACL suffered last December against New England, practiced fully this week and is in his 21-day window to be activated from injured reserve. The Cardinals have a lot of money invested in Murray and it would behoove them to see if the No. 1 pick from the 2019 draft is a good fit for their new regime.

That decision can only happen if Murray starts the rest of the way, giving them nine games of data to decide if their path forward involves building the franchise around him or trading Murray to a quarterback-needy team. Murray can increase his stock by playing well down the stretch and Arizona's roster is poor enough that they will still lose a lot with him, so getting him back in the lineup is a no-brainer.