A year ago, all the arrows were pointed up for the Arizona Cardinals. They’d made the playoffs in 2021, handed head coach Kliff Kingsbury a lucrative contract extension, and swung a deal with the Baltimore Ravens to acquire wide receiver Marquise Brown with the idea of pairing him with WR DeAndre Hopkins to bring quarterback Kyler Murray to the next level. Yeah, about all that…
As we sit here in late June, Hopkins is a free agent after having been released, Murray is rehabbing from a torn ACL, Kingsbury is an assistant coach at USC, and the Cardinals are the betting favorites in most spots to have the NFL’s worst record. Things change fast.
Fantasy owners looking to get a read on Arizona’s receivers should probably start with the quarterback situation, specifically when Murray will return and who’ll fill in for him. The second question is far easier to answer as the expectation is QB Colt McCoy will be the Week 1 starter. Beyond that, it gets dicey in a hurry. Murray tore his ACL on Dec. 12, and while there’s been some chatter that he could return before midseason it’s impossible to know.
What makes it even more difficult to project is we can’t know how the new regime views 2023. If the team is terrible, as many believe is possible, would they consider holding out Murray entirely for a shot at USC quarterback Caleb Williams with the No. 1 overall pick in 2024? If so, might they try one of the younger quarterbacks, such as rookie QB Clayton Tune, instead of McCoy once the season goes sideways? There are a lot of moving parts, but let’s see what the Cardinals at working with on the outside.