Arizona Cardinals: Kyler Murray gets a fair ranking from former quarterback

Former NFL quarterback Matt Cassel recently ranked Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray 18th out of 32 qualified candidates. 

Kyler Murray struggled in 2022, finishing with a record of just 3-8 before he landed on injured reserve with a torn ACL. He threw just 14 touchdown passes and 2,368 yards, the lowest in his four-year career. 

It’s no secret that Murray, once lauded as a surefire franchise quarterback, will have ground to make up when he returns to the field in 2023. And former quarterback Matt Cassel appears to agree, having ranked Murray 18th in his Way-Too-Early QB rankings. 

By all accounts, this is a fair, and probably a generous rating, considering the awful season Murray had before his ACL injury. However, Murray did have some jaw-dropping moments in 2022, such as when he led the Cards to a come-from-behind win in Week 2 vs. the Las Vegas Raiders. 

Arizona Cardinals quarterback snags 18th spot in QB rankings

Murray wasn’t the only quarterback whose struggles put him into the bottom half of the field. Matthew Stafford and Ryan Tannehill, who both led their respective teams to the playoffs and in Stafford’s case, the Super Bowl, in 2021, also struggled through 2022. They both landed one and two slots behind the Cardinals quarterback. 

Russell Wilson, whose struggles continued in Denver, found himself in the 23rd spot, and DeShaun Watson, who looked mediocre in six starts with the Cleveland Browns last season, took 24th. Mac Jones is another notable name who faltered, stumbling to 25th in the rankings as he toiled through a sophomore slump. 

Overall, these rankings comprise 2022 play only. So if Murray returns as a stronger version of himself in 2023, he can skyrocket up Cassel’s rankings. And he has a solid team of coaches in his corner, as head coach Jonathan Gannon seeks to build the offense around Murray’s skill-set, something we didn’t see from his predecessor, Kliff Kingsbury. 

Source: Way-Too-Early NFL Quarterback Rankings for 2023 by Matt Cassel, the33rdteam.com.