The Cardinals are sticking with Jacoby Brissett under center and sending Kyler Murray to IR!
The latest development coming out of Arizona is that the Cardinals are now placing quarterback Kyler Murray on the injured reserve list due to his foot injury. This development has turned a few heads, as many in the NFL community believe there is more to it than meets the eye.
Murray, who started the 2025-26 NFL season as the starting quarterback for the Cardinals, suffered a foot injury in Week 5 in the game against the Tennessee Titans. The Cardinals were 2-3 after week 5 with wins over the Saints and Panthers.
Murray has already missed 3 games with his foot injury, but the Cardinals never placed him on IR with the hope that he could recover quickly. That didn’t happen, and now he is set to miss a minimum of 4 games as Arizona decided to place him on IR, stating that it will give him time to focus on his recovery.
Since Murray’s injury, backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett has taken control under center, and his performances in the past three games have impressed quite a few people. Taking a look at both players and how they have performed so far this season, it is clear why the Cardinals may be inclined to lean towards Brissett as their starter.
In the 5 games that Murray started for the Cardinals this season, he has thrown for 962 yards, completed 68.3% of his passes with an average of 6 yards per attempt. He has 6 touchdowns, 3 interceptions, and a passer rating of 88.6. Although he was better at scrambling with the ball in comparison to Brissett, the latter has unlocked the passing game in a way Murray has not been able to.
The 3 games that Brissett has started so far this season have come against quality opposition, which includes the Colts, Packers, and Cowboys. In those 3 games, he has 860 passing yards, a completion percentage of 65.2, an average of 7.7 yards per attempt, 6 touchdowns, 1 pick, and a passer rating of 102.5, which includes a win over the Dallas Cowboys.
Not only that, but Brissett is also managing to extract more production from his pass catchers, as Marvin Harrison Jr., Michael Wilson, and tight end Trey McBride have all put in better performances over the last three games with Brissett under center.
With all that is going on between the foot injury and Brissett’s overall play, the big question around the NFL is whether Kyler Murray’s time in Arizona is coming to an end. Several experts and analysts have started pondering about it, and a good deal of them believe the end is near.
If the Cardinals are looking to move on from Murray, the biggest hindrance in the way is likely to be his massive contract. In 2022, Murray signed a 5-year extension to his rookie contract worth $230.5 million, for an average salary of $46.1 million per year. Finding a team ready to take on his contract may be a difficult task.
The Cardinals’ exact plans going forward are unknown, but the situation is certainly complicated, and if Brissett can continue to play at this level or even improve, Arizona will have plenty of thinking to do in the upcoming off-season.
Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
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