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Kyler Murray Says He Will Play Against Rams On Sunday

Quarterback, dealing with lower leg injury, knows it's win-or-go-home

Quarterback Kyler Murray will play in the most important NFL game of his young career on Sunday.
Quarterback Kyler Murray will play in the most important NFL game of his young career on Sunday.

Perhaps Kyler Murray didn't want to get into the details of his health, but he wasn't really going to avoid the subject Wednesday.

After initially saying he was "good" with his lower right leg injury, he was asked more directly if that meant he would be playing Sunday against the Rams.

"You want to tweet out that I'm going to play?" The Cardinals quarterback said. "Yeah, I'll be playing."

Going into a game in which the Cardinals need to beat the Rams in Los Angeles to make the postseason – and know their season ends if they do not – it was good news, albeit news that wasn't altogether surprising.

Murray was able to walk off the field following his last-play-of-the-game injury, and it didn't seem likely he'd miss what will be the biggest game of his young NFL career. The Cardinals, during his five-win rookie season, didn't play a game of this magnitude. And while there have been significant matchups this season, none have boiled down to win-or-be-done like this.

Yes, Murray has been in the pressure-cooker of Texas high school football. And he started in the college football playoffs. The NFL is different.

"It's all part of the process for a young quarterback," coach Kliff Kingsbury said. "He's been a guy who has played in a ton of important games in his life and will play in a ton more. He knows how to handle it, and he'll continue to evolve. Hopefully there are a lot more of these down the road."

Murray, who has always clearly noted his confidence in what he has done in the past translating to what he is doing as a pro, still acknowledged this game in Los Angeles will be different than any he's been in before.

"Has to be," he said.

Said left tackle D.J. Humphries said. "That ain't something I'm really worried about at all because when those lights come on, (Kyler's) the guy."

The Rams will be without their starting quarterback, Jared Goff, because of thumb surgery. Having Murray in the lineup is a major advantage for the Cardinals.

While Kingsbury had the Cardinals had to see Murray's progress through the week, he was a full participant in practice Wednesday.

"If you know that cat personally that doesn't surprise you at all," Humphries said. "He's about doing whatever it takes to put the team in position to win."

Last season, an injury issue – his hamstring – also was a part of the final week storyline going into a game in Los Angeles. Murray ultimately played in the 2019 finale. Of course, there was nothing on the line in Week 17 last year. That's not the case Sunday.

"There really is no holding back," Murray said. "We lose, I'll be home chillin', so my leg … I'm fine."

Images from the Dignity Health Training Center, presented by Hyundai.

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