Current:Home > Scams'Special talent': Kyler Murray's Cardinals teammates excited to have him back vs. Falcons-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
'Special talent': Kyler Murray's Cardinals teammates excited to have him back vs. Falcons
View Date:2024-12-23 19:07:58
Quarterback Kyler Murray will start Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons, Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon announced Friday.
His teammates welcomed the news, which comes with word that starting running back James Conner also could return from injury for Sunday's game at State Farm Stadium.
Murray's return had been expected throughout the week, especially after he was activated and added to the 53-man roster.
He will return to the field in a game for the first time in 11 months. He tore an ACL early in a game against the New England Patriots last December and had to be carted off the field, then had surgery a few weeks later. He had been rehabbing and then practicing with the Cardinals ever since.
"I'm honestly excited for the guy. I've seen what he's had to go through the last, you know, eight months or so, however long I've been here," Gannon said. "And you know, what he's put into it and how bad he wants to be out there and the competitor that he is, he wants to be out there with the guys and help his team win. So that's what I'm most excited to see."
NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.
Murray's teammates are excited about his return. His competitive desire to win permeates the locker room.
"Anytime you can have your number one quarterback play in this league, of course, that's definitely something special," said Cardinals safety Budda Baker, like Murray a team captain. "He is a special talent and a special guy who can do anything a quarterback can do, run inside the pocket, outside the pocket, throw."
Tight end Trey McBride said the return of Murray is a "huge asset" for the Cardinals. McBride figures to be on the other end of some Murray passes right away, having played with Murray last season before the quarterback got hurt.
"He's exactly what I remember him. He's a freak athlete, he's a guy who makes plays happen and obviously it's a little different with a different quarterback in there, the way he ... rolls around and stuff, but it's been good, I'm excited," McBride said. "The opportunity's gonna be there. He's gonna make some plays happen. Something about Kyler, you know, he makes plays happen when there's not much going on. ... As pass catchers we gotta be ready for scramble drill, for things to happen after the play (breaks down), things like that."
Rookie wide receiver Michael Wilson is hoping to play this week after missing last week's game with a shoulder injury. He said the receivers have to help Murray, and that he can relate to the first game back from a long-term injury.
Wilson said Murray has a zing on his throws that not all quarterbacks have.
"Obviously, he's the leader of our franchise and so I feel like there's a different feel when he's commanding the offense, a different type of leadership that is present," Wilson said of Murray. "Sort of like that star power when he's commanding the offense."
And then there is wide receiver Marquise 'Hollywood' Brown," Murray's close friend and former college teammate at Oklahoma now in his second season with the Cardinals.
"It's like he never left, for me," Brown said. "And I know the competitor he is, you know, you hear a lot of the bad talk, this and that, but he's a competitor and he's hungry to go out there and play."
Conner nears return
Conner was limited in practice all week after four games missed on injured reserve with a knee injury, but he has a chance to play Sunday.
Conner is "trending in the right direction," Gannon said.
"He's our workhorse in the run game. So it'd be good to get him back and it helps not only Kyler, it helps our team," Gannon added.
Conner is questionable to play Sunday, and there remains a chance that two injured starters on the offensive line, left tackle D.J. Humphries and right guard Will Hernandez, could play a week after getting hurt. They might be game-time decisions, Gannon said, though neither practiced Wednesday or Thursday and Humphries missed Friday as well.
Both are listed as questionable.
Tight end Geoff Swaim (back) and linebacker Zeke Turner (hamstring) are also questionable. Turner, a special teams core player, didn't practice all week.
veryGood! (41145)
Related
- Knicks Player Ogugua Anunoby Nearly Crashes Into Anne Hathaway and Her Son During NBA Game
- Japan expresses concern about US Osprey aircraft continuing to fly without details of fatal crash
- Cockpit voice recordings get erased after some close calls. The FAA will try to fix that
- Franklin Sechriest, Texas man who set fire to an Austin synagogue, sentenced to 10 years
- Alexandra Daddario shares first postpartum photo of baby: 'Women's bodies are amazing'
- Gambian man convicted in Germany for role in killings under Gambia’s former ruler
- Country music star to perform at Kentucky governor’s inauguration
- UK government intervenes in potential takeover of Telegraph newspaper by Abu Dhabi-backed fund
- Fantasy football waiver wire: 10 players to add for NFL Week 11
- Rumer Willis Shares Empowering Message About Avoiding Breastfeeding Shame
Ranking
- New Pentagon report on UFOs includes hundreds of new incidents but no evidence of aliens
- Megan Fox reveals ectopic pregnancy loss before miscarriage with Machine Gun Kelly
- Eddie Murphy wants ‘Candy Cane Lane’ to put you in the Christmas spirit for years to come
- UN atomic chief backs nuclear power at COP28 as world reckons with proliferation
- Deion Sanders doubles down on vow to 99-year-old Colorado superfan
- Detroit touts country's first wireless-charging public road for electric vehicles
- Jonathan Majors' trial on domestic violence charges is underway. Here's what to know.
- Golden Bachelor’s Gerry Turner Is Getting a Live Wedding Special: Save the Date
Recommendation
-
Skiing legend Lindsey Vonn ends retirement, plans to return to competition
-
Country music star to perform at Kentucky governor’s inauguration
-
Jill Biden unveils White House ice rink
-
Scotland bids farewell to its giant pandas that are returning to China after 12-year stay
-
Lunchables get early dismissal: Kraft Heinz pulls the iconic snack from school lunches
-
Ex-health secretary Matt Hancock defends his record at UK’s COVID inquiry
-
'Christmas at Graceland' on NBC: How to watch Lainey Wilson, John Legend's Elvis tributes
-
Infrequent grand juries can mean long pretrial waits in jail in Mississippi, survey shows