Cardinals bring back LB Tanner Vallejo to practice squad

He was released last week by the Washington Redskins.

The Arizona Cardinals players are off for the rest of the week but the front office has made a move on the practice squad. On Wednesday the team announced that linebacker Tanner Vallejo was signed to the practice squad.

Vallejo spent the offseason and the preseason with the team after being acquired via waivers. He was cut before the season began and claimed by the Washington Redskins.

He appeared in nine games for the Redskins before being released last week.

To make room for Vallejo, the Cardinals released offensive lineman Ian Silberman from the practice squad.

The addition of Vallejo gives the Cardinals six inside linebackers between the active roster and practice squad. This move could be because there is an injury at the position that could affect practice time or simply they wanted Vallejo back but didn’t have room for him at the start of the season.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.

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Cardinals RT Justin Murray honored by PFF for play vs. 49ers

He did not allow even a single pressure against the San Francisco 49ers.

The Arizona Cardinals got right tackle Justin Murray back in the starting lineup on Sunday after two games being out with an injured knee. There didn’t appear to be any rust.

In his return to the lineup, he earned a spot on Pro Football Focus’ team of the week for Week 11.

Murray graded out solidly.

Murray allowed zero pressures across his 42 pass-blocking snaps en route to an 85.2 pass-blocking grade on Sunday.

He mostly had to block Arik Armstead.

Murray has been a surprising success this season. Acquired via a waiver claim and playing on his sixth team in four seasons, he was expected to be a backup. However, he was forced into action as a starter because of Marcus Gilbert’s torn ACL and has been solid.

If he stacks a few games like this, he might find himself with the team in 2020 and beyond.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.

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Kyler Murray has several Cardinals records in reach before end of season

If he stays on pace, he will have one of the best seasons in team history.

Arizona Cardinals rookie quarterback Kyler Murray has set a few records this season.

He recently set the franchise record for passing yards by a rookie. His 17 total touchdowns are a team record for a rookie quarterback. He set a league rookie record by going 211 consecutive pass attempts without an interception.

He has set team rookie records for completions and games with multiple touchdown passes.

More records are in reach.

He currently has 418 rushing yards. With 84 rushing yards in the final five games, he will set a franchise record for rushing yards by a quarterback. Charley Trippi’s 501 yards in 1951 are the current mark. Timm Rosenbach’s 470 yards in 1990 are second.
He is two touchdown passes away from the team record for touchdown passes by a rookie. Jake Plummer has the record with 15 in 1997.
He is three rushing touchdowns away from tying the team record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback. Jim Hart holds the record with six in 1968.
With one win in the final five games, he will tie the rookie record for wins by a starting quarterback. Two more will set a new record.
He is on pace to set a franchise record for the lowest interception percentage ever. That is not a rookie record. That is an all-time Cardinals record. The lowest interception rate by a quarterback attempting at least 250 passes in a season is 2.0 percent, shared by Kent Graham in 1997 and Carson Palmer in 2015. Murray’s rate is 1.3 currently.
He is on pace to become only the second player in franchise history to have at least 20 touchdown passes and fewer than 10 interceptions. The only other time that has happened was Jim Hart in 1974 when he threw 20 touchdown passes and only eight interceptions.

Murray is on pace for 3,931 passing yards. That will not be a team record but it is one of the best seasons in team history. It would be the sixth-highest passing total in team history, bested only by Kurt Warner, Neil Lomax and Carson Palmer (three times).

The Cardinals do not have a great quarterback history. However, it does appear, at least early in his career, the Cardinals already have one of the best they have ever had.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.

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Kliff Kingsbury won’t call changed role for David Johnson being benched

He won’t call it that, even though that is what it looks like in the eyes of everyone else.

In the eyes of pretty much everyone around football, Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson has been benched. Through six games, he was 10th in the league in scrimmage yards and was the workhorse of the offense. After his fumble in the second half against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he didn’t play again. Then, against the San Francisco 49ers, he played only nine first-half snaps and got zero touches or targets. He didn’t play in the second half.

But Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury won’t say he’s been benched against the Niners.

“I wouldn’t use the term ‘benched,’” he told reporters Monday.

He said it was more about what Kenyan Drake was doing. He was the “hot hand.”

“We’re going to play the guy that we feel like gives us the best chance at that time,” he continued. “Game plans change, and roles will change. David is a part of this offense, and we have to find a way to make sure he’s playing at a high level, and we can get him the football.”

That said, his role has certainly changed. Rather being the focal part of the offense, he is now just a piece.

“David’s a very good football player, and we’ll try to put him in positions to be successful based upon the game plan week to week,” Kingsbury said.

Call it what you want — being benched, getting a more focused role in the offense or a committee of running backs — in the end, it is a demotion.

That isn’t to say it’s not the right move. Something is up with Johnson. Hopefully, after the bye week, he sees his role increase again and he is effective when he gets the ball.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.

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Comparing Kyler Murray’s and Josh Rosen’s rookie seasons

Kyler Murray has the exact same number of pass attempts that Josh Rosen did in 2018. How do the two QBs stack up?

The Arizona Cardinals have had a rookie starting quarterback for two consecutive seasons. In 2018, it was Josh Rosen. This year, it is Kyler Murray. It just happens to be that through 11 games this season, Murray has exactly the same number of passing attempts that Rosen did his rookie season, meaning there are some easy comparisons to be made.

The eye test will tell you Murray is having a superior season than Rosen did last year. Just how much better?

Murray has 393 passing attempts this season through 11 games. Rosen had 393 passing attempts all last season, in 14 games and 13 starts.

How much better has Murray been?

He has completed 37 more passes than Rosen did (254 to 217).
Naturally, his completion percentage is better (64.6 to 55.2).
He has more 425 more passing yards (2,703 to 2,278).
He has more touchdown passes (14 to 11).
He has far fewer interceptions (5 to Rosen’s 14).
He has a much higher yards per attempt (6.9 to 5.8).
His passer rating is more than 24 points higher (91.2 to 66.7).

That doesn’t even factor in the running ability. Rosen had 138 rushing yards. Murray has 418 so far and has scored three touchdowns on the ground.

Rosen won three games in 13 starts. Murray has three and a tie in 11 games.

In every metric imaginable, Murray’s season is superior to Rosen’s rookie season.

If there was any doubt about whether the Cardinals made the right decision in drafting Murray and moving on from Rosen, that should be gone at this point.

Murray simply has been far better and has shown much more promise for the future.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.

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PODCAST: What should the Cardinals do with David Johnson and Vance Joseph?

Listen to the latest edition of the podcast, the best hour of Cardinals talk on the Web.

A new episode of the podcast has dropped during the bye week for the Arizona Cardinals for your listening pleasure. What is in this edition of the show?

We go over the best and the worst from the Cardinals’ 36-26 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, we wonder about what the Cardinals should do about running back David Johnson and defensive coordinator Vance Joseph. We talk about just how great Kyler Murray’s rookie season has been and reevaluate the rest of the schedule and how many wins they should pick up in December.

Enjoy the show and don’t forget to subscribe to it on your favorite podcast app and to give it a five-star rating.

Here are the approximate timestamps for the different topics we discuss.

(2:12) The best of the loss to the 49ers

(16:05) The worst things from the loss

(31:07) The disappearance and future of David Johnson

(45:18) DC Vance Joseph and the defense

(55:28) Some unbelievable stats from Kyler Murray’s rookie season

(1:06:24) Evaluating the remaining part of the schedule

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Cardinals begin bye week a day early

Kliff Kingsbury canceled the practice scheduled for Wednesday.

The Arizona Cardinals were scheduled to have two practices on their bye week. They were to practice on Tuesday and Wednesday before getting the league-mandated four days off for the bye.

The Cardinals got one day of work in on Tuesday and that was it. According to Darren Urban for the official team site, head coach Kliff Kingsbury canceled their Wednesday practice, giving the players five days off instead of four.

The extra day will allow players a little extra to get away before a December grind. They will play five games in December, including three against NFC West opponents.

It is the latest bye the Cardinals have had since 1991.

The Cardinals are off, but the coverage from here are Cards Wire will continue. Make sure you come back for more during the rest of the week.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.

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Cardinals move up in 2020 draft order with loss to 49ers

They would have the ninth pick in the draft if the season ended today.

The Arizona Cardinals are almost certainly out of the NFC playoff picture, so many look ahead to the 2020 NFL draft. At 3-7-1, the Cardinals would have a top-10 pick in the draft. After their loss to the San Francisco 49ers, they moved up in the draft one spot, according to the latest draft order.

What sort of player could the Cardinals land with the ninth player in the draft?

Let’s look at the last several years.

In this year’s draft, the Buffalo Bills selected defensive tackle Ed Oliver.
In 2018, the San Francisco 49ers took offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey.
In 2017, the Cincinnati Bengals landed speedy receiver John Ross.
In 2016, the Chicago Bears took pass rusher Leonard Floyd.
In 2015, the New York Giants selected tackle Ereck Flowers.
In 2014, the Minnesota Vikings selected linebacker Anthony Barr.
In 2013, the New York Jets selected cornerback Dee Milliner.

Some have been impact players. Others were disappointments. Cardinals fans would like to see the team winning games, but this is at least the silver lining. The team looks like it is already going in the right direction.

Adding a young stud to the mix can only help.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.

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Cardinals drop 2 spots in new USA TODAY power rankings

They enter the bye week ranked no. 25. It is completely fair.

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The Arizona Cardinals lost their fourth straight game on Sunday, falling 36-26 to the San Francisco 49ers and dropping their season record to 3-7-1. with the beginning of Week 12, they enter their bye week a little lower in USA TODAY’s power rankings than they were in Week 11.

This week, they fell two spots to No. 25.

Per Next Gen Stats, Kyler Murray’s average “Air Yards to the Sticks” is minus-2.1. Yep, you’ve got much to learn … about AYTS and whatever significance it has.

It would appear that the stat is being downplayed because Murray has really been fantastic this season. He is up to 14 touchdown passes to only five interceptions. He has 418 rushing yards. He has led them to score at least 25 points in six of the last seven games. He has come off the field late in the fourth quarter or overtime with a lead six times. The team has blown leads in three of those games.

25th is completely fair in terms of the team, though.

What about the rest of the NFC West?

The Los Angeles Rams are 11th this week. The Seattle Seahawks are up a spot to No. 4. The San Francisco 49ers are fifth.

It’s a tough division to be in when you want to rebuild.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.

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The good, the bad and the ugly of the Cardinals’ 36-26 loss to the 49ers

A look back at the Cardinals’ loss on Sunday.

The Arizona Cardinals lost another tough matchup against the NFC West rival San Francisco 49ers, falling 36-26 in Week 11.

With the win, the 49ers improved to 9-1 on the season and continued their dominance in the NFC. The Cardinals fell to 3-7-1 in a disappointing but encouraging season.

The Cardinals’ latest loss is a heartbreaking one, but there were still some moments of positivity that they can build from. Here are the good, the bad and the ugly moments from Sunday:

The good: The Cardinals have the ability to start fast

The Cardinals faced long odds against a tough 49ers defense. However, they had the Niners on the ropes early.

Arizona was up 16-0 in the first quarter. They started off strong with a 67-yard yard drive which ended in a 26-yard Zane Gonzalez field goal. Quarterback Kyler Murray showed command of the offense, orchestrating two touchdown drives of 81 and 57 yards.

The Cardinals would end up with 224 yards of offense in the first half. Not a bad start to the day.

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