Kyler Murray is not ready to return just yet for the 1-7 Arizona Cardinals, so it will be rookie Clayton Tune making his first NFL start at quarterback when they face the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
Murray was not activated from the physically unable to perform (PUP) list by Saturday’s 4 p.m. ET deadline, so he is not eligible to play in Week 9. His 21-day window to return ends next week, making it much more likely he will start for Cardinals in Week 10 against the Atlanta Falcons. Otherwise he’ll have to be shut down for the season.
With Murray out and Joshua Dobbs traded to the Minnesota Vikings, Jeff Driskel will be promoted from the practice squad and serve as backup quarterback.
“We gotta make sure we’re doing the best thing for the team and the best thing for Kyler,” head coach Jonathan Gannon said. “He’ll have a big part in saying to me and to us, ‘Hey, I’m ready to go, I want to play football.’ And we’re still working toward that.”
After starting the season on the PUP list, Murray returned to practice two weeks ago for the first time after tearing his ACL during Week 14 of the 2022 NFL season.
The 24-year-old Tune’s only snap this season came against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 7 when the Cardinals shifted out of a punt formation and he completed a four-yard pass short of a first down.
The Eagles (7-1) are hosing the rival Dallas Cowboys (5-2) at Lincoln Financial Field in their final game before the bye week.
It’s been six years since the Eagles beat a Cowboys team with a winning record that had their starting quarterback. It was November of 2017, and Carson Wentz threw TD passes to Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith, and Dak Prescott was intercepted by Ronald Darby, Malcolm Jenkins and Rodney McLeod and sacked twice by Derek Barnett. Yeah, it’s been a while. And the Cowboys are scoring a ton of points and they have a dangerous defense and they’re 7-1 the last eight times they faced the Eagles with Dak. But, dang-it, I’m picking the Eagles for a few reasons. First, Prescott has been one of the worst road QBs in the NFL this year with three TDs, four INTs and a 2-2 record away from AT&T Stadium. Second, I believe the Eagles can pressure Prescott, who’s been sacked 14 times in the last four games. Third, the Eagles have held Terry McLaurin to 88 and 63 yards, Tyreek Hill to 88 yards, Jaylen Waddle to 63, Mike Evans to 60. CeeDee Lamb is the Cowboys’ only elite weapon, and he’s terrific, but I don’t think a team with one elite weapon can beat the Eagles. And fourth, they’re at home, where they’re 15-2 in their last 17 meaningful games. I just think the Eagles are a better team. More talent, more weapons, a better coach, a better quarterback. A win would be so huge for this team and this franchise as it begins to navigate the toughest six-game stretch in memory. I feel like they have it in them.
The Eagles are about to enter the gauntlet. Their next six games are going to be a buzzsaw: vs. Cowboys, at Chiefs, vs. Bills, vs. 49ers, at Cowboys, at Seahawks. They have the chance to start off this stretch with a huge win against their most-hated rival going into the bye week. And I think they get it done. The Dallas offense can be dangerous and it is a little scary to think about CeeDee Lamb operating in the middle of the field against the Eagles’ rotating cast of nickel corners. But the Cowboys’ offense doesn’t have as much firepower as you might expect. Outside of Lamb, they’re not getting major contributions from their other targets and Tony Pollard hasn’t been picking up chunks of yards on the ground either.
The one thing the Eagles really need to do in this game is protect the football. At times this season, Jalen Hurts has been turning the ball over too much and they’re about to face a really opportunistic defense that already has 13 takeaways and four defensive touchdowns. But if Hurts can protect the football and if the Eagles can do enough to just slow down Micah Parsons, the Eagles should be able to put up points. It’s probably going to be a tight game but I have the Eagles coming out on top.
Finally, it’s the Eagles and Cowboys at relatively full health with a whole lot on the line. Despite Jalen Hurts taking over as the Eagles starter at the end of the 2020 season, this will be just the second matchup between he and Dak Prescott. No excuses. No complaining. May the best team win.
I firmly believe that “best team” is still the Eagles. Hurts has raised his level of play and is once again in the MVP conversation, despite his turnover troubles. He’s got A.J. Brown shattering records and DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert coming on strong of late. Last season, the Eagles used Hurts on zone-reads and RPOs to help slow down Micah Parsons’ pass rush. With Hurts hobbled, that’s likely to be less effective. Still, the Eagles should attempt to run on Dallas’ front.
The Eagles also had success picking on the very nosey Trevon Diggs last season, setting him up for an easy touchdown to DeVonta Smith in each game. With Diggs on IR, Daron Bland has stepped in and become the same level of playmaker for Dallas, already returning three interceptions for touchdowns this season. Expect the Eagles to find success using the same tricks on Bland for a game-changing play or two.
Sean Desai cooked up a masterpiece against the Dolphins before the defense fell flat against the Commanders. I believe that had a lot to do with the health of Jalen Carter. He played just a handful of snaps against Washington, but he’s been a full participant at practice this week. This feels like the kind of game he’ll absolutely wreck. Plus, Kevin Byard has picked off Dak Prescott three times in his career. He’ll put him in his book one more time on Sunday to secure the win.
Kenny Pickett and the Pittsburgh Steelers worked out a few offensive kinks during their 20-16 win over the Tennessee Titans on “Thursday Night Football” to kick off Week 9.
There were a pair of notable injuries during the game. Steelers linebacker Cole Holcomb suffered a serious knee injury that will keep him out for the rest of the season. The 27-year-old spent Thursday night in the hospital due to precaution and was discharged on Friday morning, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. While he won’t return this year, he is reportedly expected to make a full recovery.
Titans wide receiver Treylon Burks had to be placed on a stretcher and carted off after landing hard out of bounds. He was seen walking out of the locker room on his own power after the game.
Moving to this weekend’s games, Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson was a full participant in practice Friday and head coach Kevin Stefanski said he will start Sunday vs. the Cardinals. Watson has played once since Week 3 and admitted he “jumped the gun” in returning from a shoulder injury early to face the Indianapolis Colts two weeks ago.
On the other side, the Cardinals are going with rookie QB Clayton Tune as Kyler Murray is not yet ready to return from his torn ACL last year.
In other quarterback news, Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford did not practice Wednesday or Thursday and is questionable for vs. the Green Bay Packers as he deals with a UCL sprain in his right thumb. It will likely come down to a game-time decision.
“It’s one of those deals that you give him up until right before the game,” Rams head coach Sean McVay said. “You use all the time necessary for a player like him.”