By Brandon Simmons
What Does a Kyler Murray Exit Look Like?
Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Muray is sitting on injured reserved, but his future with the team could be hurting the most. The Cardinals have announced backup QB Jacoby Brissett as the starter for the time being while Murray is nursing a calf injury. Brissett has started 4 games going 1-4 throwing for 6 touchdowns and 1 pick. This has sparked speculation that Murray’s time in Arizona is coming to an end. Quite Frankly, there moght be very little reason to think otherwise. In his 7 seasons with the Cardinals, Murry only has one postseason appearance, with 0 playoff wins. His lone moment, was the one-handed Hail Mary caught by DeAndre Hopkins. Aside from that, the Kyler Murray experience has not been so experiencing.
So many critics and analysts have pointed to this moment that it seems inevitable, but how does this actually appear. If the Cardinals also were to release Murray, they would carry dead cap hits worth over $50 million, whether before or after : $57.7 million before June 1 and $50.5 million after June 1. If Murray was to get traded, then the team would only be hit with a $19 million cap hit. Regardless of how each side parts ways, there will be teams lined up for him. Early on, the Las Vegas Raiders, New York Jets and Cleveland Browns are all teams that could be hunting for a QB so he won’t be hurting for a job. It’s also too early to tell how high teams are on the QB prospects coming into this draft, so that could work in Murray’s favor when that time comes as well.
Should the 49ers Leave Purdy Where He’s At?
Tom Brady – who won his starting job when the starting QB got hurt – says the San Francisco 49ers name QB Mac Jones over the injured starting QB, Brock Purdy. Brady suggested that the 49ers stick with the “hot hand”, even after Purdy returns from his turf toe injury. Since taking over the starting role, Jones has went 5-3 throwing 13 touchdowns and 6 interceptions, completing 69.6% of his passes. His play has put this team in first place in the NFC West.
There are 2 dilemmas presented here for the roster move to be considered. Jones replacing Purdy so far has been a short term solution. They have won some games and remained competitive in their division. Jones has done enough to hold the fort down until Purdy returns. However, should he have continued success, which warrants an extended stay at the starting spot, questions will start to creep up about Purdy’s future. And does that extended stay means another trip to the Super Bowl with a 49ers backup QB, which has been the case in this team’s history multiple times, including with Purdy.
Brady’s advice sounds good, but it won’t hold up. Jones has done what a lot of backup QB’s have been asked to do: come into the game and don’t let things get out of hand. He has certainly met those expectations by coming into the lineup and keeping this team competitive. But when they lose, it hasn’t been pretty. After winning his first 3 starts, Jones has went 2-3. In those losses, they have all been double digit defeats, with Jones throwing for 3 touchdowns and 4 picks, Granted, there have been injuries on the offensive and defensive side of the ball but it seems the jeat is wearing off of the hot hand. The 49ers have either found an elite backup QB or a good trade asset for teams looking for a new QB next year.
Brian Daboll Fired
The New York Giants fired Brian Daboll as their head coach on Monday after 4 seasons. Daboll was hired in 2022 and brought this team to the playoffs in his first year, with an offense led by the team’s former first round picks RB Saquon Barkley and QB Daniel Jones. However, injuries and inconsistency from Barkley and Jones led to missed postseason appearances the following 2 years. This year the team drafted QB Jaxson Dart in the first round but also brought in veterans QB’s Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston. Wilson went 0-3 as a starter while Dart replaced him but ended up going 2-5. Still, Dart showed promise throwing for 10 TD’s and 3 picks during this stretch.
This might not be a surprising move at all. In addition to Daboll, Giants GM Joe Schoen was also rumored to be fired, so if that would have happened first, then Daboll would probably find himself on borrowed time. The thing that might have been most damning to him was this 4 game losing streak. In 2 of these losses, the Giants have blown late game, double digit leads, including giving up 33 points in the 4th quarter in the loss to the Denver Broncos. Yes, Daboll is considered a low key QB guru with his work that he did with Josh Allen in Buffalo, what he did for Daniel Jones when he first got hired, so the possibilities were probably boundless when the Giants drafted Dart. While Dart’s numbers looked promising, it was not enough to overcome the losses piled up and continued to get uglier. It’s kinda ironic that dart got injured in Daboll’s last game and did not return. The last 2 years saw incredible rookie seasons from Texans QB C.J. Stroud (2023) and Commanders QB Jayden Daniels last year, both under defensive head coaches; surely an offensive coach such as Daboll could put Dart in a position to succeed just as well, if not better. However, that did not materialize and neither will Daboll’s future with the Giants.
Shoutouts/Shutouts
Shout out to Max B for bringing the Jets a win his first day out. New York rapper Max B was released from prison over the weekend after infamously serving a 16 year sentence. His first major stop was the New York Jets game where they hosted the Cleveland Browns. The New York legend, also known as Biggavelli, even dapped up Cleveland Browns QB Shedeur Sanders. Jets ended up winning the game 27-20.
No shut outs this week but rather 2 R.I.P.’s
RIP Paul Tagliabue, the former NFL Commissioner of 17 years. From 1989 to 2006, Tagliabue saw the growth of the league go from 28 teams to 32, which created the South divisions for the AFC amd NFC. Tagliabue passed away due to heart failure complications and Parkinson disease He was 84.
RIP Marshawn Kneeland, a former 2nd round pick for the Dallas Cowboys who passed away early Thursday morning. Kneeland lost his life from a self-inflicted gunshot wound following a police chase. Cowboys players decorated his locker in hos memory and even held meetings to grieve and let their emotions over their fallen teammate. Kneeland was 24-years-old.
Week 11 has the playoff races heating up and even bringing ua some previews. The game of the week will be between the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks. The Rams will be hosting a Seattle team, whose defense generated 5 sacks. However, this Rams team will be led by QB Matthew Stafford coming off his 2nd straight game throwing for 4 touchdowns. A solid matchup on both sides so something has to give. But until then…I’ll holla.
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