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By Joe Kozlowski
Sports Team Lead
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While no fan wants to see their favorite team sitting at the bottom of the standings, there can be a benefit to struggling. Bad records are (usually) rewarded with good draft picks, and there's no better way to turn a franchise around than by landing a star rookie on draft night.
The Arizona Cardinals, however, seem prepared to stick to their guns. Despite accusations of tanking, the NFC West club seems prepared to welcome quarterback Kyler Murray back into the fold.
And while there's still plenty of room to move in the meantime—practice could be as far as Murray goes—the updates do suggest that Arizona isn't throwing in the towel just yet.
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Let's break things down.
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Murray Seems Close to Returning to Practice
While it may feel like an eternity ago, Murray tore his ACL at the tail end of the 2022 NFL season. That injury, especially for a mobile quarterback, was devastating, and it kept him sidelined through training camp and the start of the 2023 campaign.
The signal-caller landed on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list, which automatically ruled him out for at least the first four games of the year. Week Five came and went without a return, though. Murray also sat out the Cards' Week 6 contest against the Rams.
In the days after that game, though, a positive update did emerge from the desert.
"Yeah, [Murray's] doing a good job. I like the week that he had," head coach Jonathan Gannon said Monday, according to Bob McManaman's AZ Central write-up. "We've got to kind of see here the next couple days, see how tonight goes and tomorrow goes, and again, though, we're not rushing that. We're making sure that he feels good about going out there, but he's trending in the right direction."
The coach also spoke about the need for his signal-caller to feel both physically and mentally ready to return; he suggested that the mental side of things is more-or-less squared away, although there will still be a learning curve.
McManaman interpreted those comments as a strong hint that Murray could be ready to start practicing as early as Wednesday.
Does that mean the quarterback will instantly be ready to play? Of course not, but it would start the clock on a decision regarding whether he'll play this season. Once Murray is designated to return, the team will have a 21-day window in which to activate him.
And while a single piece of positive injury news doesn't automatically suggest that Arizona isn't tanking, the update does seem to point in that direction.
At the most-basic level, if Arizona didn't want to win games, wouldn't they want to slow-walk Murray's return? No one, after all, is going to question ACL rehab taking an extra week or two. And if you're chasing the first overall pick, every weekend on the sidelines—and, in turn, potential loss—helps.
The club, however, seems to be taking the opposite approach. Potentially starting the quarterback's practice window this early suggests that he will play this season. And, with all due respect to backup quarterback Joshua Dobbs, Murray's presence instantly improves Arizona's chances of winning any given game.
The Cards Can Still Win on Draft Night
Without being inside of Arizona's front office, it's impossible to know how the club is viewing the rest of the season. Even if they aren't trying to tank, as Murray's return would suggest, things could still work out on draft night.
Since the NFL doesn't have a draft lottery, the selection order is based on each team's record. Murray's presence will make Arizona better but, respectfully, the team isn't going to turn into a world-beater overnight. They're already sitting at 1-5, and the Ravens, 49ers and Eagles are still looming large on the upcoming schedule. Add some strong, albeit less-dominant opponents, like the Falcons and the Texans, into the mix, and the Cards probably won't run the table.
And even if Arizona falls a bit lower into the draft, there's still a chance of landing a talented player. If we assume that Murray can return to his best, then selecting a quarterback is probably off the table. Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. would represent a tasty target, assuming the club can remain within the top few selections.
But what if the quarterback leads his team to a handful of wins and the Cardinals fall out of the top-five picks? That doesn't automatically take game-changing talent off the table either.
Pro Football Focus ranked Brock Bowers (Georgia) as the fifth-best prospect in the draft, but an injury and subsequent surgery could scare general managers. Don't expect him to be around at the end of the first round, but it's possible he'll be on the big board in the fifth-through-eighth range.
Other pass-catchers, like Malik Nabers (LSU) and Keon Coleman (Florida State), could also be options if Arizona's brass wants to give Murray some additional weapons. On the opposite side of the ball, two edge rushers (UCLA's Laiatu Latu and Penn State's Chop Robinson) and a cornerback (Alabama's Kool-Aid McKinstry) sit within PFF's top ten.
When you consider that their roster is lacking overall talent and that they hold two first-round picks—their own and Houston's—the Cardinals can really stock their cupboards at the 2024 NFL draft, even without tanking. And, who knows, maybe some good karma will have the football gods on their side.
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