Kyler Murray Expected to Play 'Plenty' in 2023

ARIZONA -- The return of Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray is upon us.

Murray - along with safety Budda Baker - returned to practice this week and was designated to return from the reserve/physically unable to perform (PUP) list. Murray is nearing complete recovery from a torn ACL/meniscus suffered last season.

There was plenty of speculation around Murray's future with the organization and whether or not the former No. 1 pick would actually play in 2023, though it appears the Cardinals weren't having any of that.

Now, not only is Murray expected to play a handful of games this season, but NFL insider Ian Rapoport says he expects the quarterback to play "plenty" the rest of the way:

"For this staff and the evaluation process of where do we go from here, is Kyler Murray our starting quarterback for the next ten years? Is he somebody we could use as a trade option? There's obviously a possibility they have a top five draft pick in this coming draft - what do they do with it? So seeing Kyler on the field, in their offense, in their scheme, working with the coaches in games, this is all important. There is an evaluation process here, so I do believe Kyler Murray is going to play plenty this season."

Video:

From The Insiders on #NFLPlus: #AZCardinals QB Kyler Murray is expected to play for them this season, and one of the reasons is... they want to see him. pic.twitter.com/FNBK2NcZbr
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 19, 2023

Playing Murray was always - at least around the team - considered a win-win. The Cardinals don't know which direction they want to head in and seeing Murray on the field will do one of two things:

1. Confirm he's their guy for the future

2. Allow other teams to see he is healthy and can be traded for

Whatever direction the Cardinals choose to head in, Arizona has flexibility in their future, though it was never a question if Murray would play in 2023.