The Arizona Cardinals‘ dumpster fire of a season got a lot whole lot worse on Tuesday.
An MRI on quarterback Kyler Murray‘s knee confirmed the worst fears as it was revealed that he tore his ACL in Monday night’s loss to the New England Patriots. That injury will put an end to his 2022 season and turn the Cardinals offense over to backup quarterback Colt McCoy the rest of the way.
Murray was injured on his third play of the game on Monday and had to be carted off the field.
For Murray, it ends what has been a bitterly disappointing season that saw the Cardinals go just 4-9 to start the year (and just 3-8 with Murray as the starter).
While the Cardinals took a significant step backward as a team, Murray also regressed prior to the injury and saw his production drop across the board statistically. He went from 24 touchdowns, 10 interceptions, a 100.6 passer rating, and 57.3 QBR in 14 appearances a year ago down to 14 touchdowns, seven interceptions, an 87.2 passer rating, and 51.2 QBR in 11 appearances this season.
This news will certainly complicate the Cardinals offseason approach because there is no guarantee Murray will be ready for the start of the 2023 season. Even if by some chance he is, he may not quite be 100 percent or the player the Cardinals need him to be.
Arizona extended Murray and head coach Kliff Kingsbury this past offseason despite just one playoff game during their team together (they lost) and a couple of brutal second-half collapses.
There was hope they could all reach the next level this year, especially with the addition of Marquise Brown at wide receiver and the return of DeAndre Hopkins but things never panned out as hoped. Now the season just gets even worse with a major knee injury for the franchise player.
