Arizona Cardinals: Kingsbury and Murray will not coexist in the desert

Colt McCoy’s spot start this past Sunday proved a quarterback of his style is a better fit for the Arizona Cardinals offense under Kliff Kingsbury. 

It’s Wednesday, and the Colt McCoy saga continues to dominate the headlines. And while there should be absolutely no quarterback controversy for the Arizona Cardinals given McCoy’s hot hand yet old age (in football years), McCoy’s spot start revealed that a quarterback with his playing style could be a better fit for Kliff Kingsbury’s offense, meaning the Cardinals need to explore the possibility of moving on from Kyler Murray.

One name that comes to mind is Jimmy Garoppolo when it comes to replacing Murray, if and when the realization arises neither he nor Kliff can coexist with one another. Garoppolo’s contract ends after this season with the San Francisco 49ers, and he also historically fits the mold for successful quarterbacks with the Arizona Cardinals: Older, but not ancient, like McCoy, experienced, supposedly relegated to backup status, etc. – Can someone say Carson Palmer or Kurt Warner?

It would feel like history is repeating itself if the Cards grew wise, dumped Murray’s contract on a vulnerable team like Detroit or Houston, and moved on. Because this isn’t just about McCoy’s spot starts proving his type of player is far more effective with Kingsbury; it’s slowly showing us players like Murray’s skill-set and personality do not fit in Kingsbury’s offense.

Arizona Cardinals need to decide between Kliff and Kyler

In all honesty, I don’t care for either one of them. I do feel Murray could be an effective quarterback in this league if Kingsbury was willing to tailor the playbook to fit his unique skill-set, as is the case with players like Jalen Hurts, Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, and Justin Fields. Hurts, Jackson, and Allen also show more ability to win football games and display better leadership qualities than Murray, so put another Con in front of the former number one overall pick’s name.

While the Cardinals are the epitome of dysfunction under Kingsbury, evidenced by Eno Benjamin’s abrupt departure, at least the offense looked, well, like an NFL-caliber offense with McCoy at the helm. If I were part of the Cardinals brass, I’d be pushing like none other for the team to trade Murray in the offseason, as someone will gamble on that contract, guaranteed.

Murray’s unique skills, despite his obvious underperformance, are too juicy for some NFL general managers to pass up. And the Cardinals could, in turn, get a ransom out of Murray. They could also wind up just keeping McCoy, drafting someone who could be a better fit to run Kingsbury’s offense like a C.J. Stroud, and go from there.

But as I mentioned earlier, bringing in someone with a similar playing style to McCoy but with more tread on the tires like a Jimmy Garoppolo, would make sense too. Garoppolo would also have some added motivation to play against a team that pretty much shunned him, only to call for his services when his replacement, Trey Lance, went down with a broken leg earlier this season.

Either way, Kingsbury and Murray cannot coexist in the current atmosphere. One of them has got to go if the Cardinals want to avoid further dysfunction. And considering the fact McCoy ran the offense well, the ball should be in Kingsbury’s court, despite the team’s dysfunctional culture under the head coach.

Article Source: Cardinals organized, empowered vs. Rams without Kyler Murray at QB by Dan Bickley 

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