Cardinals GM gives Kyler Murray major endorsement ahead of season

During a recent Arizona Sports 98.7 FM radio station appearance, Arizona Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort praised how quarterback Kyler Murray worked to recover from his serious knee injury in December 2022.

"All I can say is from the second I walked into the building, seeing how he attacked his rehab — that was hard, what Kyler had to do last year," Ossenfort explained, as Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk shared. "And I’m not talking solely the rehab, but he had to learn, all the transition we had on the roster, all the transition we had on the coaching staff."

Ossenfort and head coach Jonathan Gannon joined the Cardinals in early 2023 after Murray had a knee issue. The club signed the 26-year-old to a five-year contract extension in 2022 worth $230.5M with $160M guaranteed. Murray ultimately returned to the starting lineup this past November and posted a record of 3-5.

Per Pro-Football-Reference, Murray ended the regular season ranked 23rd in the NFL among qualified players with a 47.2 adjusted QBR. Across eight games, he tossed 10 touchdown passes and five interceptions to go along with 244 rushing yards and three additional scores.

In January, Gannon said he had "no doubt" that Murray would be his starting quarterback for Week 1 of the 2024 season. Some nevertheless wondered during the spring if Arizona could spend the fourth overall pick of this year's draft on a signal-caller. The Cardinals instead selected Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. to help Murray improve upon what he accomplished during the second half of the 2023 campaign.

"So to see Kyler grow into that, I can’t comment on where he was, all I can know is the growth I’ve seen out of him, physically, mentally, from a leadership standpoint, here in the year and a half that we’ve been here, it’s been great to see," Ossenfort continued during the interview.

As of Friday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed Arizona's over/under win total for the upcoming season at 6.5. Questions about Murray's long-term future with the Cardinals will hover over the organization through the winter if Arizona completes a third-straight losing campaign.