Arizona Cardinals quarterback lands in not-so ideal tier in analyst’s rankings
By Sion Fawkes
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray needs to have a bounce back season when he takes the field in 2023, and it could be his last chance in the desert.
When you draft a quarterback with the first overall pick, you expect that they will be ‘the guy’ moving forward. Unfortunately for the Arizona Cardinals, Kyler Murray is looking less and less like being ‘the guy,’ and more like an underachiever.
Even so, if 2023 was his final season in the desert, I still hesitate to call him a bust. He is, if anything, more like a Jeff George or a Jameis Winston. Someone who played better than a major bust like JaMarcus Russell or Ryan Leaf, to throw out a pair of examples, but he still fell way short of the hype.
And this showed in Chris Simms’ latest rankings regarding Murray, someone who just two seasons ago, thought rather highly of the much-maligned quarterback. So where did Simms rank the former first overall pick? Nowhere near a desirable spot.
Arizona Cardinals quarterback lands in the wrong tier of rankings
Simms placed Murray in a tier called “clock’s ticking,” which means exactly what you know it means. Murray’s days are very well numbered in the desert if he continues his poor play upon his ultimate return to the team.
So what does Murray need to do if he’s planning on escaping such a ranking? For one, the level of maturity has got to keep improving.
He also needs to consistently win without relying on the likes of DeAndre Hopkins. And now that Hopkins is no longer in the desert, it’s the moment of truth for Murray.
Given how weak the Arizona Cardinals are supposed to be this season, Murray should look at 2023 as an opportunity to elevate the talent around him once he returns. If he doesn’t, then Clayton Tune would be more than happy to take over and prove that he could be ‘the guy’ beyond 2023.
Overall, Smms’ ranking of Murray is an accurate one. And despite the hefty amount in dead cap the Cards will fork up if they part ways with Murray following the season, if he shows little to no improvement, then there is no reason to keep him around any longer.
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Source: Simms: Cardinals’ Kyler Murray in ‘clock’s ticking’ tier of NFL quarterbacks, by Arizona Sports, ArizonaSports.com