This time last year, the Arizona Cardinals were getting ready to begin their first season under new head coach Jonathan Gannon, and doing so without their starting quarterback. Kyler Murray had torn his ACL late in the 2022 campaign, and instead of working with the first-team offense, he was working with the trainers to get himself back to full health.
Things are different this year. Murray has gone through the full offseason program and hit the ground running with the rest of the offense. And Gannon is impressed with what he's seen.
"Physically and mentally, I mean, he looks damn good. He looks damn good," Gannon said during an interview with Mad Dog Sports Radio. "You know, 'cause you gotta think, he played really good football for us; he had never taken a snap in this offense until Atlanta [in Week 10], you know what I mean, his first game back. I mean, he had a couple weeks of practice leading up to that, but no offseason program, no training camp. No however many games we played without him. Couple weeks of practice and then, you're going, 'Let's play football.'
"So, I think from a mental and physical standpoint, right now where he's at, to even when he got back last year or even where he finished last year, I think he's leaps and bounds ahead."
After Murray returned from his injury last season, he completed 65.7% of his passes at an average of 6.7 yards per attempt, with 10 touchdowns against five interceptions, along with 244 rushing yards and three more scores on the ground. Now fully healthy and with an improved group of weapons -- including rookie wideout Marvin Harrison Jr. -- around him, expectations are clearly higher now than they were when he was just working his way back into shape. Gannon is confident he can reach them due to Murray's demonstrated leadership abilities.
"What I know about the guy, my relationship with him when I got his job: His will to win is extremely high," Gannon said. "And if you detail out and lay out for him what is needed from him to improve himself, the offense and the team, he is one thousand percent willing to do that. So, I love the guy, because he's done everything that I've asked of him and more. He's been a phenomenal leader on and off the field -- not just with the offense, but with the entire team."
