INDIANAPOLIS – The quarterback's timeline is vague, as is the top wide receiver's future. And with free agency starting in mid-March, time is of the essence for the Cardinals trying to keep their top targets.
None of this is a surprise for GM Monti Ossenfort and coach Jonathan Gannon, who started their week at the annual Scouting combine meeting with the assembled media on Tuesday without too many answers to the team's key questions.
Gannon talked about seeing quarterback Kyler Murray almost every day at the team facility, and again said he wasn't sure when Murray, rehabbing from an ACL tear, would be expected back on the field.
"I told Kyler I'm not going to rush him back," Gannon said. "Part of what makes Kyler so elite are his legs. When he's ready to play, he'll play. I don't know exactly the timetable right now. Everyone heals a little differently.
"He wants to be out there as fast as he can."
As for DeAndre Hopkins, it remains possible he stays in 2023, but a potential trade certainly hasn't been discarded. Ossenfort talked again about having a conversation with Hopkins and his representative – Hopkins didn't have an agent when he signed his last contract with the Cardinals.
"I'm not sure," Gannon said. "We are evaluating everyone. I know this – he's a premier receiver you have to have a plan for (to defend). He limits you with how you have to play defense. … He's a valuable asset for us."
Two other key names that remain in flux – free agents-to-be Zach Allen and Byron Murphy, who lead a long list of unsigned Cardinals. Most won't be back, but the Cardinals could use Allen to stay for a defensive line that needs rebuilding. Murphy is more of a wild card after dealing with a back injury that kept him out half the season.
"Zach and Byron are both good players," Ossenfort said. "We'd love to keep them. There is obviously a financial component. Those discussions will continue to take place.
"We'd love to keep everybody, we'd love to pay everybody, but unfortunately the way the league is set up it's not always possible."
Ossenfort also said the Cardinals have not yet made a decision on the fifth-year option (for 2024) on linebacker Isaiah Simmons.
While the draft remains at the forefront this week – and Ossenfort, not surprisingly, said he will be interested in fielding calls to trade the No. 3 overall pick – the rest of the roster-building comes first. Ossenfort didn't commit to adding a veteran quarterback aside from Colt McCoy, but he did say it can only help to add competition at all spots – including QB.
"If (Kyler) is not ready to go we will have a plan in place to play and win games with who we have playing quarterback for us," Gannon added.
As for the rest of the free agent path, Gannon said the vision he had with how the coaches will work with the personnel side (and vice versa) melds well with what Ossenfort wants to do.
"If you talk to Monti everything is going to be pretty collaborative," Gannon said. "We're going to lean on his side a lot, and he's going to lean on our side. Ultimately it's not about who is making the decisions but that we are making the right decisions for the Cardinals."
