A 2022 ACL tear ended Kyler Murray‘s campaign that season and delayed his return to the field until the midway point of the following season. 2024 thus marked an important checkpoint in his recovery as the Pro Bowl quarterback managed to play a full slate. 
Mobility was an issue for part of last season, however. Murray revealed during an interview with PHNX Sports that he was “feeling something” with respect to his knee early in the 2024 campaign (video link). As a result, the former No. 1 pick did not run as much as he wanted to. Murray recorded 78 rushing attempts, well short of his career-high in that regard (133 attempts in 2020).
Notably, Murray added there are “conversations” taking place with the coaching staff about his rushing numbers increasing in 2025. The 27-year-old is of course one of the NFL’s top quarterbacks with respect to producing with his legs when fully healthy, having amassed over 3,000 yards and 31 touchdowns on the ground during his career. Improving on offense moving forward could include a heavier emphasis on Murray using his legs.
“I don’t want to get too scheme based, but I do feel like I have to run more next year,” the former Offensive Rookie of the Year said. “I’m open to running more next year, just because it’s such a weapon… I think for us, part of the emphasis going into next season is, conceptually, on time, I feel I’m one of the best in the league. I think where we get better is making things happen outside the pocket.”
The Cardinals were in contention to win the NFC West for much of last season, but a 2-5 run to close out the campaign left them outside of the playoff picture. The team’s overall record of 8-9 represented a notable step forward from the first year of the Jonathan Gannon-Monti Ossenfort regime, but further development on both sides of the ball will be needed to continue in that direction. Defensive help early in the draft is expected to be targeted, something which would leave Murray in place as a central figure in the passing and rushing attack moving forward.
The Oklahoma product has another four seasons left on his contract, and most of his scheduled 2026 compensation recently became locked in. Murray’s future in the organization is not in doubt, but the extent to which he operates as a rushing quarterback next season will be an interesting storyline for the Cardinals.
They’re going to be a tough out this year. Need another RB and WR and they’ll be much better offensively. Connor is the hub and spoke of that offense, but he’s getting old and banged up. With SF trending down, LA Rams might be the only ones to challenge them for the division title.
Is this a good thing long term? Running is a necessity for Murray’s game, but he’s also undersized and has already had knee trouble. His legs and mobility are his best feature, and should never be underutilized, but that also means that they probably shouldn’t be overutilized, either. Being smarter with running-I.e., in more “got to have it” situations-is probably a better strategy than simply just “running more” as a strategy.
Teams are making such a huge financial investment in their top QB now that they’re going to have to make a tough decision about how much running they can allow. You don’t have to be a genius to see the risk of injury increases when a QB crosses the line of scrimmage. How many teams actually have enough depth at QB to make a playoff run if the starter is lost for a significant amount of time because of an injury received while running?
I agree. Can be a great weapon for team to use. Even just the threat of it is huge. As the article says not looking to become a running qb. But to use the weapon of running as a weapon to add to package.
You’ll notice even Mahommes and Jackson don’t look to run. Only when they have to, and with an early slide or going out of bounds. The whole mobile QB thing is really a myth. Most QBs today are athletic enough to extend plays.
I think it’s pretty obvious that the Ravens went after Derrick Henry to relieve a lot of the rushing burden on Lamar.
He needs to work on becoming a better passer after the way he’s nosedived in that regard.
ACL recovery and still wants to run more? Spoken like a true selfish moron
I don’t see where you how you got that from the article. Did you read it. He discusses why they didn’t do it last year but is open to discussing it as a team to use it as another weapon. Doesn’t sound selfish to me in article.