Team news: Arizona Cardinals

Cardinals WR Marvin Harrison Jr. underwent surgery for appendicitis and is out for at least this week and possibly longer.

Related Players: Michael Wilson, Greg Dortch, Xavier Weaver

With no MHJ, the Cardinals receiver room drops to Titans-level in terms of avoidance. Wilson should probably operate as the target leader, but that still only puts him in WR4 territory. Jacoby Brissett is also dinged down and is a fringe streaming option.

Veteran Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Zay Jones will miss the rest of the season after tearing his left Achilles in Sunday's loss to the Seattle Seahawks, coach Jonathan Gannon announced Monday.

The injury occurred late in the second quarter on a second-and-3 pass from quarterback Jacoby Brissett to Jones in the back of the end zone.

Jones' two-year tenure with the Cardinals has been rocky. He missed the first six games last season, the first five for a suspension for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy and one because of an injury. Before the Cardinals bye week, Jones jumped back on the fantasy radar with two fairly productive games, but over the last two weeks after the bye had just one target before getting injured.

Cardinals are placing QB Kyler Murray on injured reserve due to his foot injury, meaning he now will miss a minimum of four games.

Cardinals say this will give Murray the chance to focus on rehabbing his foot injury and that he is committed to getting back as soon as possible.

Related Players: Jacoby Brissett

We have to wonder if we see Murray for the rest of the season, and going even further, he could legitimately get moved to another team at season's end.

This isn't even necessarily a bad thing for Marvin Harrison Jr. or Trey McBride, who are still safe fantasy plays here in Week 10 and beyond.

Sources: The AZCardinals are naming Jacoby Brissett as their starting QB.

Related players: Kyler Murray

There seems to be some mixed reports out there on just how long Brissett will be the starter, especially since HC Rich Gannon just said Murray is still the starter, when healthy. PFT is reporting Murray will continue to work on the health of his foot and he may be active for Week 10, but Brissett will start. Murray's timeline for his foot injury is now said to be 4-8 weeks, so it's still even possible Murray ends up on IR. If Brissett comes out and upsets the Seahawks this week, after knocking off Dallas this week, it's hard to imagine the Cards going back to Murray. Mike Florio of PFT believed the Cardinals and Murray would part ways after the season in an article Monday, and that certainly seems like it will happen. Murray is not "the guy" of the current regime, so it would make sense the coaching staff wants to move in a different direction. While Brissett will at least start in Week 10, it seems possible Brissett could start the rest of the season as well.

Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett has played very well in place of the injured Kyler Murray, but head coach Jonathan Gannon says Murray will return to the starting lineup as soon as he is cleared.

Asked if he would reconsider and keep Brissett at quarterback, Gannon insisted he wouldn’t.

“Nothing’s changed on that,” Gannon said. “That’s how I feel.”

Brissett completed 21 of 31 passes for 261 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions in Monday night’s 27-17 win over the Cowboys. Statistically, Brissett has been better than Murray this season, the story pointed out, and if you've watched any Cardinals games, the offense just looks better under Brissett. In a story we posted yesterday, PFT's Mike Florio believes Murray's days in Arizona could be numbered, and while he doesn't expect a trade before today's deadline, he feels an offseason move could be likely.

Could Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray be traded?

So I poked around. And I learned there are too many moving parts for a Murray trade to happen now. Not many teams would be willing to even consider it. Murray, even without a no-trade clause, would have to be willing to embrace the change of venue. His contract would be an issue. Having fewer suitors would reduce any leverage he’d possibly have for a through-the-door extension. So, despite the current existence of an awkward vibe between Murray and the Cardinals (dating back to the ill-advised “homework” clause in his 2022 extension), he won’t be going anywhere this season.

That said, an offseason trade is very realistic. If not likely.

This is just the opinion of PFT's Mike Florio, of course. But perhaps the best point made is this isn't the current regime's choice for QB, and when a new regime takes over they tend to want their guys in place. As the story said, HC Rich Gannon is already in his third year and likely won't make the playoffs again. Florio said teams like the Dolphins, Jets, Steelers, Browns, Raiders, Vikings, and Saints could all be looking for new QBs for next season. Florio said a trade before Tuesday's deadline appears to be too complicated, which makes an offseason move more likely in Florio's opinion.

Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon announced Saturday that Jacoby Brissett will start again at quarterback Monday night against the Cowboys.

Kyler Murray is on his way back from a foot sprain. Gannon noted that Murray could have a role in Monday’s game but it will be Brissett getting another start for Arizona. Brissett threw for 279 yards and two touchdowns in Week 7 against the Packers. It’s a good matchup for Brissett against one of the worst pass defenses in the league. Brissett has some streaming appeal this week.

The Arizona Cardinals are preparing quarterback Kyler Murray to start Monday night against the Dallas Cowboys, coach Jonathan Gannon said Thursday. Murray missed Arizona's past two games with a foot injury and was able to rest it longer during the Cardinals' bye last week.

Related Players: Jacoby Brissett

Murray's in a great spot to come into fantasy relevance against a Cowboys defense that ranks dead last in QB aFPA. Even if Murray doesn't scramble around a ton with a rehabbing foot, he should still be in easy consideration as a QB1.

The Cardinals released veteran RB Michael Carter, per the wire.

Related players: Trey Benson, Zonovan Knight, Emari Demercado, D'Ernest Johnson

Carter wasn't impressive despite getting the starting nod a couple of weeks. The Cards will go with Knight as their top back and Demercado, at least for now, looks to slide into the RB2 role. Benson will miss at least one more week on IR, but has a chance to come back for Week 10.

Cardinals WR Marvin Harrison Jr., who is in concussion protocol this week, is off the injury report and good to go Sunday versus the Packers.

Related Players: Zay Jones, Michael Wilson, Greg Dortch

MHJ will get Jacoby Brissett throwing him the ball this week, but it's arguable whether or not that's actually a downgrade from Kyler Murray. Consider Harrison a WR3 for Week 7.