Sean Murphy-Bunting had been signed as a free agent in 2024 to provide some experience at cornerback for the Cardinals, as the team spent extensive draft capital at the position.
The Cardinals will have to lean on those young corners with Murphy-Bunting lost for the season with a knee injury, coach Jonathan Gannon confirmed on Wednesday.
"It happened in the offseason, he had to have surgery to get it fixed, so he won't be able to play this year," Gannon said. "It's a tough break for him, a tough break for us, but we'll move forward and so will he."
Murphy-Bunting had been placed last week on the Non-Football Injury list, indicating the injury happened away from the team facility.
Murphy-Bunting played in 15 games last season, his first for the Cardinals after signing a three-year free-agent contract. He had three interceptions, five passes defensed, two forced fumbles and three tackles for loss. He also left the season finale early – following an interception -- after getting into a scuffle with 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings with both being ejected.
The Cardinals have plenty of bodies at cornerback to deal with such a loss, although there is still proving going on. The team spent second-round picks on Max Melton and Will Johnson, third-round picks on Garrett Williams and Elijah Jones, and also found value when they picked up Starling Thomas V off waivers two years ago and turned him into a two-year starter.
"For the young guys, there will be some learning on the job," Gannon said. "You need reps to learn, I truly believe that. And really, bad reps to really learn. So that's an ongoing process for all our guys, whether you play 18 years like Calais (Campbell) to a rookie who has never played in the NFL before.
"I feel really good about that (cornerback) room. I feel really good about the guys that are coming back and feel good about the guys we added."
The Cardinals also have the benefit from having two veteran safeties in Budda Baker and Jalen Thompson to anchor the secondary.
"If we're on a game day right now I can easily tell our young corners what to do because that's our job," Baker said. "They have to understand what they have to do and understand the game plan, but also communicating with us all the time. You'll never not know what to do because our communication is so important."
The Cardinals opened their organized team activities on Wednesday, the first of six such voluntary sessions. (Teams are allowed up to 10 OTAs, but Gannon shaved that down this year.). The three-day mandatory minicamp follows after OTAs, beginning June 10.
