The Cardinals made a significant—potentially franchise-altering—decision heading into Week 10, announcing that they’d be moving forward with Jacoby Brissett as their starting quarterback this coming Sunday against the Seahawks.
On the surface, it doesn’t sound all that important. Kyler Murray, Arizona’s franchise signal-caller, is dealing with a foot injury for which the prognosis indicates a four-to-eight week recovery—with an increased chance of a setback should it not properly heal. The 28-year-old hasn't played in just under a month and was placed on injured reserve on Wednesday, and will now miss at least the next four games.
It’s coach Jonathan Gannon’s remarks on the matter, however, that have added to the intrigue.
After the Cardinals’ 27-17 win over the Cowboys on Monday night, Gannon was asked if Murray would remain the starter when he’s back healthy, to which he responded, “Nothing’s changed.” On Tuesday morning, however, he named Brissett the starter and told reporters that Murray will “continue working on his health bucket,”—while notably not ruling him out as a potential backup on Sunday vs. the Seattle. A point that's now null and void given Murray's placement on IR.
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“I do like how we’re operaring as an offense,” Gannon explained on his decision to stick with Brissett. “…I take all the variables that I have and make a decision, and make the decision when I need to. And I think we’re doing a pretty good job on offense. I like what we’re doing on offense right now.”
Arizona is rightfully doing its part to beat around the bush and make this something it isn't. But make no mistake about it: this isn’t injury-related—Gannon all-but said it himself.
And here are three reasons why it’s the right move to go with Brissett not just this week, but for the rest of the season.
Efficiency
After starting the season 2–0, Arizona dropped its next five games before putting its losing streak to a halt against Dallas—and they were able to do so, in part, because of their efficiency on third down.
For just the second time this season—both instances coming with Brissett under center—the Cardinals converted more than 50% of their third-down attempts, going 7-for-13 on Monday night. The offense is now converting 56% of said attempts over the last three games in which Brissett has started. With Murray under center, meanwhile, Arizona was converting just 38% of its attempts.
Additionally, despite Murray completing a higher percentage of his passes (68.3% vs. 65.2%), Brissett has both posted the better passer rating (102.5 vs. 88.6) and TD:INT ratio (6/1 vs. 6/3) so far this year.
Production
Not only has the Cardinals' offense been highly efficient since Brissett took over the reins, but its production across the board has surged.
With Brissett leading the offense, Arizona is putting up more points per game (25.7 vs. 20.6) and total yards per game (356.7 vs. 288.4) than they did with Murray, while the quarterback is also throwing for significantly more yards per game (286.6 vs. 192.4).
Additionally, those around the signal callers are also seeing a jump in their numbers. Wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.—Arizona's first-round pick in the 2024 NFL draft—caught a career-high seven passes and scored his first touchdown in over a month during last week’s win over the Cowboys. His running mate, Michael Wilson, meanwhile, recorded a season-high 61 yards on Monday night, while tight end Trey McBride has hauled in four touchdowns since Brissett took over in Week 6—compared to just one in five games with Murray.
“I think we’ve got a lot of talent on this offense,” said Brissett on Wednesday. “It’s been fun these last couple weeks, obviously, to get out there and play with those guys.”
Given the statistical improvement, it’s fair to say they’re enjoying it with him, too.
Financial flexibility
The final—and perhaps most obvious—reason why the Cardinals are making the right decision here, is the money behind it.
Murray is in year three of the five-year, $230.5 million extension he signed with the club ahead of the 2022 season, and signs continue to point to this being the final one. That's part of why sticking with Brissett is a smart financial move.
Keeping Murray on the bench—and healthy—inherently preserves his trade value heading into the offseason. If he returns to the field and struggles, or worse, gets injured again, his market would likely disappear. Trading Murray this spring would save the Cardinals roughly $40 million in dead cap space, according Spotrac.com—a far better outcome than an outright release from the marriage that feels headed for a divorce.
Earlier this year, Murray made a tongue-in-cheek comment about “hopefully” still being around when Arizona’s new football facility is completed in 2028. At this rate, that continues to feel less and less likely.
