The Cardinals will have Kyler Murray for an entire season in 2024, after he missed the first half of last season with a knee injury -- and he will open against a team from which he carries fond memories.
Murray and the Cardinals will travel to Buffalo on Sept. 8, and the last time the Cardinals played the Bills -- at home in 2020 -- Murray completed the "Hail Murray" TD pass to DeAndre Hopkins to steal a win.
The Cardinals also make their return to primetime TV after being shut out last season, hosting "Monday Night Football" against the Chargers.
The 2024 schedule has been released. The Cardinals look like they have avoided bad weather games -- Trips to Buffalo and Green Bay are over by mid-October, Miami isn't until late October -- although Carolina can get chilly in December. Three of the first four are at home, although five of the first six games are against playoff teams.
A look at the full 2024 schedule:
WEEK 1
Sept. 8 CARDINALS at BILLS 10 a.m. (CBS)
OK, so opening against a perennial Super Bowl contender isn't ideal, heading across the country. It's the second year in a row the Cards will travel to the Eastern edge of the country. Last year they opened in Washington. One huge plus -- won't have to worry about a Buffalo blizzard on opening weekend. They will have to worry about QB Josh Allen, although the Bills have gone through a ton of changes as their roster got older and more expensive. A chance, with three straight home games up next, to come out hot.
WEEK 2
Sept. 15 RAMS at CARDINALS 1:05 p.m. (FOX)
Aaron Donald has always been a problem for Kyler Murray. No more! The future Hall of Fame defensive lineman is now retired, and to that opponents -- and even Kyler, when it happened -- breathed easier. But the Rams are the Rams, and they have caused problems for the Cardinals since Sean McVay arrived. No better time than the home opener for the Cardinals to tilt that the other way.
WEEK 3
Sept. 22 LIONS at CARDINALS 1:25 p.m. (FOX)
Yes, it does feel like the Lions end up on the Cardinals' schedule more often than not. But these Lions are different than most years; they seemed on their way to the Super Bowl last year with their big lead over the 49ers in the NFC Championship. They just paid QB Jared Goff a ton of money, and with all the draft picks that have panned out and the leadership of coach Dan Campbell, they will be the favorite to repeat in the NFC North. It feels like a battle between Jonathan Gannon and Campbell for the essence of football is an underlying theme for this one; you won't find two more "football guys."
WEEK 4
Sept. 29 COMMANDERS at CARDINALS 1:05 p.m. (FOX)
Gannon will get a chance to avenge the loss he suffered in his first game as head coach, a close defeat last season in Washington. But that will truly be down the storyline list, given that the new offensive coordinator of the Commanders is the man Gannon replaced, Kliff Kingsbury. Meanwhile, Washington will quarterbacked by another guy who has significant ties to the desert -- former Arizona State starter and LSU Heisman winner Jayden Daniels.
WEEK 5
Oct. 6 CARDINALS at 49ERS 1:05 p.m. (FOX)
The Cardinals go back on the road to face the defending NFC champions, the team that features Valley kid Brock Purdy (Perry High) at quarterback and now Valley kid Ricky Pearsall (Corona del Sol High) at receiver. Of course, they also have Brandon Aiyuk (ASU kid) at receiver, as well as Deebo Samuel, and Christian McCaffery has been ultra-productive against the Cardinals. The gauntlet of playoff teams reaches its apex here; the Cardinals have to find ways to win games within the division.
WEEK 6
Oct. 13 CARDINALS at PACKERS 10 a.m. (FOX)
Ahh, a trip to Lambeau. The last time the Cardinals went there it was blistering cold and snowing -- yet the Cardinals pulled off the upset in 2018 thanks to a stellar defensive performance and Larry Fitzgerald's big play. Mid-October should be much better (fingers crossed) but any chance to visit a football mecca is a good one. Jordan Love seems like he's potentially the latest in a line of successful Packers QBs, but there is still more to prove. Kyler Murray, in this offense, is in the same range. Larry Fitzgerald is not walking through that door -- but Marvin Harrison Jr. will be there.
WEEK 7
Oct. 21 CHARGERS at CARDINALS 6 p.m. (ESPN+, Monday Night Football)
The Cardinals are back on primetime. They had no games there last year, and oddly, after Thursday night was once billed as the night every team would play once, the Cardinals don't have a Thursday game for a second straight season. They do play a Monday game, at home against Jim Harbaugh -- one of five new head coaches the Cards face, although this franchise knows all about Harbaugh after his 49ers years. His team will be physical and lean into the run game. It'll be nationally available, although as the NFL moves more into streaming, Cards-Chargers will be on ESPN+ and not the regular ESPN platform (no fear if you are local; there will still be a local over-the-air channel carrying the game.)
WEEK 8
Oct. 27 CARDINALS at DOLPHINS 10 a.m. (FOX)
Who gets to cover Tyreek Hill? Is it Max Melton? Is it Rabbit Taylor-Demerson? The Cardinals have added all kinds of speed in the secondary, but they still have to stick with one of the most dangerous receivers in the league. (Pressuring Tua Tagovailoa when he's passing also would help a lot.) A plus -- the weather shouldn't be oppressive during the trip, although the Cards' last trip to Miami, way back in 2016, it poured rain most of the game. Of course, if the Cardinals run the ball as well as they did to end last season, Gannon will just say, bring it on.
WEEK 9
Nov. 3 BEARS at CARDINALS 2:05 p.m. (CBS)
There were five teams that went into the draft that had to take a quarterback in Round One, and four ended up on the Cardinals' schedule. The team at the front of the line -- thanks to their 2023 trade with the Panthers -- was the Bears, who will bring Caleb Williams to State Farm Stadium. The building has had its share of No. 1 overall QBs playing there in their rookie years. Kyler, of course. Sam Bradford. Cam Newton. (Jared Goff was there but didn't play that season.) And now Williams will join the club. The Bears have high hopes, but unless Williams does a C.J. Stroud turn, there will be a learning curve -- one of which the Cardinals need to take advantage.
WEEK 10
Nov. 10 JETS at CARDINALS 2:25 p.m. (CBS)
So the question is this: Does Aaron Rodgers make it this deep into the season? Or does his body break down before the Jets -- who will be coming off a minibye after their second Thursday night game of the season -- make it out to the desert? The Jets will be a fascinating team this season, with a roster that in theory can make them a playoff threat. But Rodgers is going to dominate the headlines, with both how he plays and what he says. Makes for a fascinating game week for a team the Cards don't normally see.
WEEK 11
BYE WEEK
It's not quite midseason, but 10 games in and seven to go is still better than bye weeks in Week 13 or 14, which has been the Cardinals' lot the last couple of seasons. Regardless, it'll be a good break, embraced by all, including your friendly neighborhood reporter.
WEEK 12
Nov. 24 CARDINALS at SEAHAWKS 2:25 p.m. (FOX)
The Cardinals begin a stretch of seeing the Seahawks twice in three weeks with their annual trip to Seattle. What will the Seahawks look like under new coach Mike McDonald? He brings with him a successful defense he installed in Baltimore, but it will be strange to not see gum-chompin' Pete Carroll on the sidelines. The "new" Seahawks still have Geno Smith at quarterback, so that give some continuity, but what this team looks like -- and how they measure up with the Cardinals this season as Gannon moves his team forward -- will be a key part of the division battle.
WEEK 13
Dec. 1 CARDINALS at VIKINGS 11 a.m. (FOX)
So many rookie quarterbacks. Sure, Sam Darnold has a chance to be the starter in 2024 as J.J. McCarthy learns from the bench, but let's be real -- by the time this game shows up later in the season, McCarthy easily could be in the lineup. Perhaps more interesting will be how the Cardinals' new cornerback lineup -- whatever it might look like -- deals with wide receiver Justin Jefferson. Jefferson is everything the Cardinals are hoping Harrison Jr. can be, and keeping him with relatively sane output will be crucial for this game.
WEEK 14
Dec. 8 SEAHAWKS at CARDINALS 2:05 p.m. (CBS)
The Cardinals haven't beaten the Seahawks at home since 2020, a wild game in a near-empty stadium when Isaiah Simmons made a huge overtime interception and Budda Baker and DK Metcalf had their infamous footrace. Is Geno Smith the QB all season, or is there a chance the new coaches turn to Sam Howell?
WEEK 15
Dec. 15 PATRIOTS at CARDINALS 2:25 p.m. (CBS)
To think, the Patriots are, indirectly, responsible for the Cardinals getting Harrison Jr. in the draft. Kind of. It was inevitable that the Bears and Commanders were taking QBs; there was a school of thought New England might draft MHJ. In that alternate universe, the Cardinals No. 4 pick would've been up for sale. Instead, Drake Maye will likely be the QB when the Patriots come to town, trying to figure out NFL life while -- in a perfect world -- Harrison Jr. is already making like Shannon Sharpe once upon a time.
WEEK 16
Dec. 22 CARDINALS at PANTHERS 11 a.m. (FOX)
Alas, there was a chance the Cardinals could be playing this game in Germany. Instead, they will stick to a trip to Carolina. All hail the Krispy Kremes in the pressbox. On the field, does Bryce Young look any better in Year 2? It was fashionable to compare Young to Kyler coming out, because they are the same height, but Murray is a much thicker athlete. He's also a much better quarterback. At least the Cardinals aren't playing on Wednesday that week.
WEEK 17
Dec. 28/29 CARDINALS at RAMS TBD
It's the late season intra-division games, where the Cardinals will (hopefully) be making both a playoff push and a push to be at or near the top of the division. As 2024 -- the year -- comes to a close, it'll be interesting to see the impact the Monti Ossenfort first two draft classes have left their imprint. Can one of the pass rushers get to double-digit sacks (BJ Ojulari?) Can the youngsters in the secondary be the kryptonite to Cooper Kupp or Puka Nacua?
WEEK 18
Jan. 4/5 49ERS at CARDINALS TBD
Wrapping up the season against the team that will inevitably be voted to most likely be the NFC West champions. The Niners, right now, are what the rest of the NFC West is chasing. At this point in the season, Gannon's team just wants to be in a position to get into the postseason. If they have to win a game, getting the chance to do it at home is important, and the Cardinals showed last year they are built to finish a season strong.
PRESEASON OPPONENTS
WEEK 1 Aug. 10 SAINTS at CARDINALS 5 p.m.
WEEK 2 Aug. 17 CARDINALS at COLTS 4 p.m.
WEEK 3 Aug. 25 CARDINALS at BRONCOS 1:30 p.m. (CBS, national broadcast)
