The 2023 regular season is just days away and the Arizona Cardinals HC Jonathan Gannon is yet to announce his QB1. This brings Kyler Murray into perspective. The $45,000,000 worth QB currently holds a massive $230,500,000 contract with the Cardinals. However, his availability in the first few weeks is not guaranteed as he is still recovering from a knee injury that he sustained last season.
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The Cardinals have also made a major move by cutting veteran QB Colt McCoy from their 53-man roster. Given the current situation, the Arizona Cardinals have a lot of work to do in the coming few days. Top of the priority order is announcing a QB1. It appears that the Cardinals are planning to make many changes to their QB depth chart, especially after releasing Colt.
Arizona Cardinals and the QB1 Issue
The Arizona Cardinals seem to be in a fix. They did put in a hefty investment of $230,500,000 in Kyler Murray but the QB’s knee injury and the subsequent surgery have posed major issues for the unit as the season approaches. In fact, they have not removed Murray from the PUP list, meaning he’ll at least miss 4 games. Moreover, recently, they unexpectedly released veteran QB Colt McCoy from the team.
Confirmed that Kyler Murray will remain on PUP and can’t return until Week 5. He can’t begin practicing until after he’s activated but can still “participate in team activities”
Here’s some of what I had to say about Kyler in July from The Draft Guide #birdgang pic.twitter.com/v9LsiXT8UK
— Edwin Porras, DPT (@FBInjuryDoc) August 28, 2023
Amidst all this shakeup, the comments by HC Jonathan Gannon have confused everyone. He is tight-lipped about naming his Week 1 starting QB against the Washington Commanders. This is what Gannon said about the situation,
“I’m not going to name a starter because I think it’s a competitive advantage for us going to Washington, but we will know who the starter is. I think we have a plan in place, but I want to see them both play football still. This week we got some work and then the following week we got some work, but I feel good where we’re at.”
Kyler Murray’s absence and Colt McCoy’s removal means that the Cardinals will most probably go with Josh Dobbs or Clayton Tune in the week 1 clash. While keeping Murray on hold for now does look like the right thing to do, after cutting Colt, the QB department does seem weak for Arizona as week 1 nears.
The Colt McCoy Conundrum
The Arizona Cardinals recently bid farewell to Colt Mccoy, mere days before the season opener. Talking about the McCoy situation, HC Jonathan Gannon, per PHNX Cardinals, recently said, “Colt’s awesome, he’s a true pro’s pro. You know they care, they put a lot of hard work and sacrifice into their craft. But ultimately, if you’re honest with them, they appreciate that, and they know that we’re going to do what we have to do for what’s best for the team. But, yeah, these are tough days.”
Colt McCoy had a 3-3 record while starting as Murray’s backup. These aren’t bad numbers actually. If Gannon is to be believed, then the decision to release McCoy was a strategic one rather than a reaction to any single performance. After signing for the Cardinals in 2021 on a one-year deal, McCoy returned in 2022, thanks to his strong performance as a backup QB.
However, now it looks like McCoy won’t be seen in the Cardinals jersey anytime soon. His presence will be missed in the Arizona Cardinals locker room as the team tries to find a QB for their opening week clash.
