Cardinals’ Joshua Dobbs to start in Week 9, Kyler Murray status ‘day-to-day,’ Jonathan Gannon says

Kyle Murray’s return to the field will have to wait a bit longer. Following the Cardinals’ Week 8 loss to the Ravens at home on Sunday, head coach Jonathan Gannon confirmed to reporters that Joshua Dobbs, who has been filling in for the injured Murray throughout this season, will again start for the team in Week 9 when his team travels to Cleveland to take on the Browns.

Murray has been participating in practice with Arizona after the team opened up his practice window earlier this month. The former No. 1 overall pick, who suffered a torn ACL in Week 14 last season, was listed as a full participant in practice last Wednesday and then was not listed at all for the remainder of the week, signaling that he is fully healthy. Despite that, the team listed him as doubtful for this game in Week 8 and it appears the team will continue to have him on the shelf for at least another week.

When asked if Murray will start in Week 10 when the Cardinals return home for a matchup against the Falcons, Gannon said, “We’ll see. Day-to-day, guys.”

This is a bit of a curious situation. If Murray is healthy — as the team injury report suggests — why wouldn’t the Cardinals play him? Not only that, but Dobbs has started to come back down the earth after an impressive start to the season. In the loss to Baltimore, the veteran completed 25 of his 37 passes for just 207 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. If Dobbs was playing at a high level, that would, in theory, give the Cardinals more breathing room to allow Murray to take his time in his recovery, but the club is now 1-7 and in desperate need of a boost. You’d think that injecting him back into the offense would be a clear spark to what has otherwise been a down season in Glendale.

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Of course, with the NFL trade deadline set for Tuesday, Gannon’s comments certainly leave wiggle room for folks to recklessly wonder if a deal with Murray heading out of Arizona is on the horizon. While unlikely, it does stand to wonder what the future holds for Murray beyond this looming return with the Cardinals rocketing towards a top-five pick in a draft where there are two top quarterback prospects.