How the Cardinals are preparing Kyler Murray to play again
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Pat McAfee breaks down what Kyler Murray returning to practice signifies for the Cardinals. (1:46)
TEMPE, Ariz. — Now that Kyler Murray is back at practice, the Arizona Cardinals have implemented their plan to ramp up their franchise quarterback for his 2023 debut.
Coach Jonathan Gannon and offensive coordinator Drew Petzing have kept details of that plan close to the vest but Murray has already started taking first-team reps and working in the huddle.
“It’s exciting for me,” left tackle D.J. Humphries said. “Like, just seeing him running around, like looking cool, for me, is just, like, ah, my guy’s over there. I know he’s trending in the right direction.
“When I seen him come in the huddle, like I had to like chill because he was trying to be, like, calm and I was, like, excited. So, I had to be like, ‘All right, OK. We being chill today.'”
The Cardinals’ plan began Wednesday, when Murray came off the physically unable to perform list and returned to practice 310 days after tearing the ACL in his right knee on Dec. 12, 2022. The Cardinals now have 21 days to activate him to the 53-man roster.
During the open portion of practice Wednesday and Thursday, Murray was getting a heavy load of reps working with two sets of three receivers. While current starter Joshua Dobbs and backup Clayton Tune were alternating during individual throwing drills, Murray was working by himself, throwing routes from the shotgun and under center.
He also ran the first-team offense during slower tempo sessions in practice.
“We structure practice in a way that’s very competitive, that guys get the reps that they need to improve their game while also covering the other things for the opponent,” Gannon said. “But we got certain periods there that it’s not game-plan specific, too, so we can work on our game.”
Over the next few weeks, the Cardinals will have to find the balance between giving Murray the reps he needs to be ready for whenever he returns to game action while making sure Dobbs continues to get the necessary reps to be prepared for the upcoming games — the Cardinals face the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday (4:05 p.m. ET, Fox).
Internally, the Cardinals see Murray as physically ready to return to a game but understand there’ll be some rust he needs to knock off. There’ll also be a learning curve for Murray to take what he’s learned in the classroom and implement it on the field.
Murray has been in every meeting this season, and spent the summer learning the Cardinals’ new offense and terminology. That preparation helped convince quarterback coach Israel Woolfork that Murray won’t have a problem incorporating what he’s learned in his return to the field.
“It’s like anything else, when you take a break from something, coming back to it, I’m sure it’s gonna be an adjustment period to it,” Woolfork said. “I don’t think it’s gonna be that [difficult].”
Getting Dobbs ready for the next couple of games is “priority No. 1,” Petzing stressed. Murray’s return hasn’t affected Dobbs’ practice routine, Dobbs said this week. When Murray gets his reps, Dobbs gets mental reps.
Petzing added that Murray will also have windows to get his reps, whether it’s downtime during practice or extra time during the day. The goal, however is to get Murray “as much work as humanly possible,” Petzing said.
Murray’s approach in the coming weeks will be similar to how Tune prepares. “It is a unique task,” Petzing said.
It was “weird” seeing Murray back in the huddle, second-year tight end Trey McBride said, but added it was “encouraging and exciting.”
After a couple of days, Murray’s teammates have been impressed with how he’s looked this week — which, Humphries said, seemed like the Murray of old.
“He looks like he’s moving around like himself,” Humphries said. “He doesn’t look like he’s missing a step or a hitch or anything like that.”
Said McBride: “I think he looks great. He looks like himself. I feel like he’s ready to go. I mean, I don’t know what kind of timeline he’s on, but he looks like he could play right now and I’m just eager and excited for him to start taking more and more reps, and kind of building that chemistry back up with him.”
To help get Murray up to speed, Petzing will lean on his experience as the Cleveland Browns’ quarterbacks coach last season when they ramped up quarterback Deshaun Watson to return after his 11-game suspension for violating the league’s personal conduct policy after he was accused by more than two dozen women of sexual assault and sexual misconduct. Petzing had three weeks of practice with Watson to prepare him for his season debut, putting him and the Cardinals in a similar position this season. Murray has at most 21 days, but he could come back sooner. Gannon called Murray’s plan “adaptable.” Last week, Gannon said that Arizona isn’t going to take a firm approach to Murray playing after 21 days.
“There are all kinds of scenarios where he can play quicker, it might take him a little bit longer,” Gannon said. “And that’s OK.”