Skip to main content
Animated graphic with red feathered background and information about Cardinals @ Packers
Advertising

Arizona Cardinals Home: The official source of the latest Cardinals headlines, news, videos, photos, tickets, rosters and game day information

WordFromTheBirds-category-logo-v4

Presented by

Kyler Murray's Other Duties, And Bengals Aftermath

The Cardinals got a win Friday night. And not just on the scoreboard. Looking across the league and seeing injuries to some key players – including a possible serious knee injury to Jets QB Zach Wilson – just underscores again why the Cardinals don't want to play important players if they can help it.

So if there was any thought that Kyler Murray could end up playing at some point before the Chiefs regular-season opener, that is probably gone now (if it ever existed.)

But Murray was still involved in Friday's game. Early, as shown on the TV broadcast, Murray was bringing water to the players who had been on the field. The more you can do, right? Then later, he once again donned the headset in the fourth quarter and called the plays for the Cardinals while Jarrett Guarantano was quarterback. Murray has done some playcalling a number of times in practice while he has been sitting out. This time, coach Kliff Kingsbury said he stayed completely out of it and let Murray go.

"The only parameters were if we got the ball at the end, which we did, he wanted to throw it instead of kneel it out and that wasn't going to happen," Kingsbury said.

Murray only got to call six plays before the kneeldowns – "less than I anticipated," Kingsbury admitted – but said Murray actually made a couple of nice calls that had open receivers, only to have the plays break down.

"He does a good job with it," Kingsbury said.

-- Like Zaven Collins, Kingsbury – who has made clear cornerback Marco Wilson is still fighting for his starting job – wants to review the video before making any judgements on Wilson's play Friday. Wilson was flagged for a pass interference on a ball that ended up caught anyway, playing about 18 or 20 snaps.

-- When given a chance, wide receiver Greg Dortch keeps making plays, both catching the ball and on a punt return. But Kingsbury's analysis of Dortch also continues to be the same.

"Our biggest deal with Dortch is just to continue to fine tune his game," Kingsbury said. "Understand the scheme ... and really master the system."

-- The Cardinals, 29th in the NFL in the red zone last year, went 4-for-4 against the Bengals. No it doesn't count, and yes, Kingsbury himself wasn't giddy about it, but it's a good sign.

-- Speaking of Murray, he has yet to throw a pass to Hollywood Brown at training camp, thanks to the time each of them have spent not practicing. But they finally connected during pregame Friday, as Murray stretched out his arm a little more than he had all week at practice. He threw some to Brown 30 yards downfield. The expectation is still for Murray to be back at practice normal this coming week.

-- Colt McCoy, on the other hand, did not throw at all when he came out early. I'm guessing we will see a lot more of McSorley the rest of the preseason games.

-- Matt Prater missed two extra points. I'm sure he's not thrilled, but get it all out now when it doesn't count.

-- Wide receiver Andre Baccellia caught a touchdown pass to open the scoring, but later left with a right ankle injury. Baccellia was unable to put any weight on the leg after he went down.

-- DeAndre Hopkins remains on track to miss the first six games with his PED suspension, but teammates had something to say about it Friday as they arrived for the game. Guys like James Conner, Darrel Williams and Byron Murphy were wearing "Free D-Hop" shirts. Doubtful it will have an impact, but it's the thought that counts.

That's enough for tonight. A week of camp at State Farm Stadium to go.

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) during the 2022 preseason game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Cincinnati Bengals on Friday, Aug. 12, 2022 in Cincinnati, OH.
Advertising