Fantasy Football Waiver Wire: Cardinals' Kyler Murray on Verge of Returning | Should You Add Murray?
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray is getting closer and closer to returning to the field. The 26-year-old was designated to return from the physically unable to perform (PUP) list on Wednesday, opening his 21-day practice window.
Our charts show Murray is owned in just 30% of leagues. When can we expect Murray to play? Will Murray automatically take back his starting role? Should you add Murray to your fantasy team, and if so, when is the right time to make the move? Let’s discuss.
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Murray’s Career
Murray has spent his entire career in Arizona after being drafted 1st overall in the 2019 NFL Draft. He’s had his ups and downs as a pro, but certainly has shown he can be a starting quarterback and viable fantasy option.
The last time we saw Murray, he tore his ACL in December. In the 11 games he played in up to that point, Murray had completed 66.4% of his passes for 2,368 yards and 14 touchdowns, while tossing seven interceptions.
Murray’s first three seasons saw him throw for between 3,722-3,971 yards a season. He tossed 20 touchdowns as a rookie, 26 as a sophomore and then 24 in a 14-game 2021 season. He threw 12 picks in his first two seasons before 10 in year three.
Murray’s passing ability isn’t what truly makes him special; it’s his running athletic ability that makes him hard to sack and a true running threat defenses must account for.
Murray has run for at least 418 yards and three touchdowns in each season he’s played in, with those numbers coming last year. He tallied 544 yards and four scores as a rookie before going for 819 yards and 11 touchdowns in his second season. Murray dropped down to 423 yards and five scores in 2021.
When Can We Expect to See Murray?
Given he’s coming off a major injury, and is owed a lot of money in the years to come, Arizona will most likely take things slowly with the quarterback.
The nice thing for the Cardinals is that Joshua Dobbs, who has started in Murray’s place this season, has played pretty solid football, so the team doesn’t need to rush Murray back. The Cardinals also sit at 1-5 through six weeks of play, so unless they go on a nice little winning streak soon, the team isn’t playing for a whole lot. Arizona has been pretty competitive so far, and could have a better record with Murray running the show, but I doubt that would speed up the team’s clock on Murray’s return. All it means is that Murray likely becomes the starter when he's ready, even though Dobbs has played solid.
I wouldn’t be surprised at all if the Cardinals use the entire 21-day practice period on Murray. That would mean Murray’s season debut would come against the Atlanta Falcons in week 10 - if Murray gets the start over Dobbs.
At the very least, I’d expect two weeks would be needed to get Murray ramped back up, so another first game option would be week 9 against the Cleveland Browns.
Just because some players are able to start their practice window and immediately jump back into game action doesn’t mean they all can. I’d put Murray’s chances of playing in week 7 against the Seattle Seahawks at less than 1%. I’d guess his chance of playing in week 8 against the Baltimore Ravens is between 5-10% and then somewhere around 40-50% for week 9. Week 10 is when I’d expect him back.
Even when Murray gets back on the field, I think the Cardinals will try to be as careful as possible about calling certain plays. I’d guess he won’t run as much in his first few games back and instead rely on the short-passing game and running game to have the offense move the ball. As he gets more comfortable with game action, I’d expect Murray to run a bit more and start to look like his old self. I don’t think we’ll see the best version of Murray until very late in this season or early next season.
Should You Add Murray, and When Do You Make the Move?
With everything I just said regarding Murray’s return, I think you got a little time before making a move for Murray. If you are desperate for help at the quarterback position and can stash him on IR until he is on the active roster, then by all means make the move.
Murray is one of the more dynamic quarterbacks in the league, and if he hits his stride this season, he’ll be one of the top 10 fantasy QBs every week. As I’ve already said, I don’t think we’ll get the dual-threat version of Murray we are used to until late this season or next year, but he’s still a capable passer and can rack up fantasy points that way.
To avoid the last-minute frenzy to add Murray, I’d target Murray before week 8 or 9, especially if you have a starting plan for the QB spot those weeks. If your league doesn’t have IR spots, Murray can simply take up a roster spot for a week or two before being activated.
I’m a fan of Murray as an above-average fantasy quarterback, even if he can’t quite recapture what made him so special in his first couple seasons. At the very worst, you have a starting option every week. Best case scenario would be Murray playing well right from the start of his return, and he turns into the QB you needed in order to make a late-season push and postseason run.
