Cardinals placing QB Kyler Murray on IR with foot injury

TEMPE, Ariz. — Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray will be placed on injured reserve as he continues to recover from a foot injury he suffered in Week 5, coach Jonathan Gannon said Wednesday.

This injury is not season-ending, Gannon said. Murray will have a chance to return if his foot is healthy.

“I really do [hope that happens]”, Gannon said. “We have a lot of ball to play, and one day at a time. And where he is right now is he has to pour into his bucket of health and prepare to be healthy. »

With Murray out for at least the next four weeks, Jacoby Brissett will continue to be the Cardinals’ starter with Kedon Slovis as his backup. Gannon said the Cardinals will look to add another quarterback.

“Jacoby is doing his job, taking it one day at a time, preparing when he wasn’t a starter, preparing to be a starter,” Gannon said. “He knows his role can change, and now he’s going to prepare the same way.”

Murray would be eligible to return in Week 14 against the Los Angeles Rams (December 7).

The decision to put Murray on IR was made Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning, Gannon said. It was a collective decision between the team and Murray, as well as his representatives.

Ultimately, Gannon said, it was the best thing for Murray and the team.

“He’s not fully healthy yet, he’s not ready to go yet, so it makes perfect sense,” Gannon said. “Obviously it’s a change, but we just felt looking at it now, it was the best thing for him and for us.

“He is fully committed. For the moment he will focus on his health. He is not fit enough to play. He needs to be healthy to be able to start playing football again.”

After weeks of uncertainty over whether or not Murray would be healthy enough to play, Gannon said the decision to put Murray on injured reserve was based on the information the team currently has.

Gannon said it was “very fair” to say that Murray’s foot injury was a more difficult situation for him to return than for other quarterbacks who don’t rely on their legs to play as much as Murray.

“Obviously, for him, it keeps him from being fully healthy to go play, and him, as a person and a player that he is, yes,” Gannon said. “And you could look at other things, like this injury for other people, but he played through some things at other positions, if they have them, they can’t play those because of what they’re asked to do.”

Gannon said Murray took the news “as well as he can” and added the quarterback is in a good position to focus on his rehabilitation.