The Arizona Cardinals believe in quarterback Kyler Murray. The new front office and coaching staff stuck with him coming back from his knee injury. They loved what they saw at the end of last season after his return and acclimation to the offense.
They love where he is at now in the offseason, but that doesn’t translate to greatness in the national perspective.
Pro Football Focus ranked all 32 NFL starting quarterbacks and Murray only makes it to Tier No. 4.
What does that mean? He is part of “the melting pot of starting quarterbacks,” ranking No. 17 overall, just behind Detroit’s Jared Goff and ahead of Seattle’s Geno Smith.
Murray tore his ACL in November of 2022, so we knew most of his 2023 season would be lost. On top of that, we figured the Cardinals wouldn’t be very good and there wouldn’t be a reason to rush him back. But he returned in Week 10 for an eight-game season and played decently. His 2021 campaign was of an MVP caliber, with 43 big-time throws and just 14 turnover-worthy plays. But his 2022 season before injury was a massive step back. We will see which version of Murray comes out on top for the majority of 2024.
He is in the same tier as other notable quarterbacks like Kirk Cousins, Tua Tagovailoa and Brock Purdy.
Tier 1 is Patrick Mahomes alone, the Mahomes tier. No. 2 is for the elite and No. 3 is for postseason-worthy QBs.
Murray’s salary suggests he should be higher on this list, but it is a list with some very good players. That said, the 2024 season becomes very important for Murray. Whether he leads the Cardinals to the playoffs or not, he needs to look like more than just a guy who is a starter.
The Cardinals could do much worse, but that isn’t what they have envisioned from Murray. If he stays healthy, there is a lot of optimism that he will.
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