3 Observations on Cardinals Losing Sean Murphy-Bunting For 2025

The Arizona Cardinals lost a starter and veteran cornerback in Sean Murphy-Bunting to the reserve/non-football injury list today according to numerous reports.

Murphy-Bunting will miss the entire 2025 season as a result.

What do we make of the loss and how it impacts the Cardinals moving forward? We break it down below.

Cardinals Lose Main Veteran in CB Room

Of the Cardinals' top corners to crack the projected 53 man roster, Murphy-Bunting by far had the most NFL experience in the room:

Sean Murphy-Bunting: 7 years of experience
Will Johnson: Rookie
Max Melton: 2 years of experience
Starling Thomas: 3 years of experience
Garrett Williams: 3 years of experience
Denzel Burke: Rookie

Murphy-Bunting also brought Super Bowl experience to the room after winning the title with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers just a few seasons ago.

He was also one of 19 players currently on the roster who has seven years or more of playing experience.

Though his play was often criticized last season, there's no substitute for experience.

Cardinals Should Be Just Fine on Boundary

The arrival of two more cornerbacks to the room via the NFL Draft indicated perhaps Murphy-Bunting wasn't quite what Arizona hoped he would be on the boundary in 2024.

His PFF coverage grade of 53.1 ranked 167th out of 222 eligible corners last year.

According to Pro Football Reference, Murphy-Bunting's 70.7% completion rate when targeted in 2024 ranked as the second-worst season in his career.

With Garrett Williams locking down the slot position, the Cardinals were pleased with progress made from Max Melton and Starling Thomas last year while working opposite of Murphy-Bunting.

If Will Johnson is anything close to the prospect he's projected to be, the Michigan product could easily win starting duties on the boundary.

There's options - good options for Arizona at corner - and even with Murphy-Bunting in the mix, many believed the veteran's playing time would have dwindled this year.

Sean Murphy-Bunting Might've Played His Final Snap in Arizona

Losing the veteran voice will be tough for Arizona and its overall development of their young cornerbacks, but make no mistake about it: Murphy-Bunting might've been on the way out regardless after this season.

As previously mentioned, the stats on Murphy-Bunting's 2024 campaign were less than inspiring, which turned up the pressure on his seat looking into next season.

Now, with him sidelined for the entire 2025 season, Arizona's crop of young corners will have ample opportunity to prove why they deserve playing time regardless of Murphy-Bunting's presence on the roster now or in the future.

Barring a dismal performance from everyone involved, the Cardinals won't be inclined to bring Murphy-Bunting back.

The proof is even deeper in the pudding when you evaluate the financial aspect of a potential departure.

With Murphy-Bunting landing on the NFI list, the Cardinals are not required to pay his base salary of $7.6 million (per The Athletic) this season - but they still can if they're feeling generous.

The NFI list is typically reserved for injuries that occur outside of team activities or the facility, which signals Murphy-Bunting could have suffered a serious injury on his own accord.

Whether Arizona decides to pay the base salary remains - though Spotrac does show the Cardinals have an out from his contract entering 2026 where they can cut him with only $2 million in dead money.

The writing truly appears to be on the wall that Murphy-Bunting has played his last down of football in the desert.