A look at whether or not Cardinals fans should realistically prepare themselves for Murray’s return this week.
The Arizona Cardinals released their first injury report of Week 8 on Wednesday and it had huge news. Quarterback Kyler Murray, currently still on the PUP (physically unable to perform) reserve as he completes the final stages of his recovery from a torn ACL, was listed for the first time as a full participant in practice.
This naturally created a buzz about a potential return for Murray, maybe even this week at home against the Baltimore Ravens.
So what does his full participation mean?
Simply put, it might mean something and it might not.
At the surface, all full participation means is that his injury no longer limits his reps. He is still technically on PUP and not on the active roster. He has two weeks left in his 21-day window to be activated. That could happen this week.
But being listed as a full participant doesn’t mean he is taking all the first-team reps. He might be.
The way to know whether he will come off PUP this week and start on Sunday is whether he is getting the first-team game-prep reps in practice. The Cardinals certainly would not plan on him starting if he was not the guy to get a full week of first-team reps.
Last week, he did take some first-team reps, but head coach Jonathan Gannon said it was only a few. He did most of his work with the second-team offense doing competitive work against the first-team defense, helping prepare him for full-speed NFL defenses.
Ian Rapoport reported the Cardinals plan on using all or almost all of his practice window before activating him from PUP and his likely return will either be against the Cleveland Browns in Week 9 or the Atlanta Falcons in Week 10.
ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss says that Murray still needs medical clearance after practicing more and Murray has to feel good, and that, as of Wednesday, while it is possible he could play this weekend, it wasn’t likely yet.
While Murray has had months to digest the mental side of learning a new offensive system, he did not get one single physical practice rep until last week.
This is his training camp. He needs physical reps in the system and to get used to NFL game speed.
That Week 10 home game against the Falcons makes a lot of sense.
He will have gotten four weeks of practice reps and at least one with all the first-team reps. It will be at home against a Falcons team that look like the most beatable of the next three games. It is the game that running back James Conner likely returns from injured reserve, giving him a full offensive arsenal.
The Cardinals have been firm on the notion they have a plan for his return. Unless the plan was for him to play this week, we shouldn’t expect it.
It could happen, but just because he is a full participant in the first injury report of Week 8 doesn’t mean he is on track to play this week.
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