The Arizona Cardinals are remaining vague on their Week 9 starting quarterback. Despite the general belief that Kyler Murray will return from his two-game injury absence and face the Dallas Cowboys, the Cardinals are not entirely showing their hand just yet.
Murray has not played since Oct. 5, when he suffered a foot injury in a loss to the Tennessee Titans. Head coach Jonathan Gannon noted that the Cardinals are preparing for him to start in Week 9, according to ESPN's Josh Weinfuss, but they are remaining as vague as possible.
Murray was scheduled to speak to reporters after practice on Thursday, but the team altered the plans at the last second to note that a “quarterback” will be available to speak later in the week, Cardinals reporter Darren Urban reported.
The Cardinals' Week 9 activity closely aligns with how the Baltimore Ravens handled their Week 8 injury report. Baltimore made every move suggesting that Lamar Jackson would return after its bye in Week 8, but ruled him out at the last second and started Tyler ‘Snoop' Huntley. Arizona is also coming off a bye ahead of its matchup with the Cowboys.
Arizona has until Monday to determine an official starting quarterback. However, barring a last-minute setback, all signs point to it being Murray. If it is not Murray, Jacoby Brissett would be in line for his third consecutive start.
Cardinals expect Kyler Murray to return from injury in Week 9
Assuming Murray returns, he will take over a reeling team on a five-game skid. The Cardinals have not won since beating the Carolina Panthers 27-22 in Week 2 and have since fallen to last place in the NFC West.
Although the Cardinals are 0-2 without Murray, their offense has statistically been better with Brissett under center. The journeyman has averaged 299.5 passing yards per game and accounts for the two highest passing yardage totals of the team's season. In his two starts, Arizona only lost to the Indianapolis Colts and the Green Bay Packers by four points each.
Brissett's strong play caused some to question if he would remain the starter, even once Murray returned. That notion was quickly denied by Gannon, who confirmed that Murray is still the team's starting quarterback and would resume that role as soon as possible.
