It was obvious the moment Kyler Murray began writhing in pain after going down awkwardly on the third play from scrimmage that he likely had torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. The quarterback’s tears on the cart ride to the training room gave away the initial diagnosis.
As much as he and the Cardinals hoped and prayed otherwise, an MRI on Tuesday confirmed the bad news.
“He’ll be done for the year. Torn ACL,” Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury said, via video from Bo Brack of PHX Cardinals. “Obviously unfortunate. Tough to see and talking to him last night, yeah, tough night.”
Murray will have further testing and get “some different opinions” before undergoing surgery.
Kingsbury, also dealing with the death of his college coach, Mike Leach, on Tuesday, was understandably subdued during his news conference. He called it a “tough couple of days.”
It’s also been a tough season for Kingsbury and the Cardinals on the field.
The Cardinals are 4-9 after entering the season with high hopes. Murray and Kingsbury both were lightning rods for criticism before Murray’s season-ending injury after both signed expensive extensions in the offseason.
“Both of us heard enough this year to be highly motivated for the offseason,” Kingsbury said. “I know he will be, too. Those surgeries have been proven recently that guys are coming back and faster and stronger, and I know he’s excited about that process.”