‘Little doubt’ Murray’s ACL is torn, source says

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray was carted off the field with a noncontact knee injury less than 90 seconds into Monday night’s game against the New England Patriots.

He is scheduled to undergo further testing on Tuesday, including an MRI, but a source told ESPN there is “little doubt that it’s torn,” referring to the quarterback’s ACL.

In his postgame news conference, Arizona coach Kliff Kingsbury said Murray’s injury “doesn’t look good, but we’ll know more in the morning.”

Murray went down after a 3-yard run to the right on the third play of the game. The clock read 13:39 while Murray was attended to by team athletic trainers and doctors. He wasn’t touched before he went down.

Murray’s teammates took a knee around him almost immediately, and Kingsbury was also on the field checking on the star quarterback.

The cart took Murray off the field toward the Cardinals’ locker room as he sat on the back with a team athletic trainer. ESPN’s Lisa Salters reported on the game broadcast that Murray was sobbing as he entered the tunnel on the cart.

He was initially listed as questionable to return before being downgraded to out at the end of the first quarter.

Backup Colt McCoy entered the game in Murray’s place. He threw for 246 yards on 27-of-40 passing with an interception against New England and was sacked six times in Arizona’s 27-13 loss.

“I’ve played for a long time and you always have to be ready,” McCoy said. “You never want to see the guy in front of you go down. You just don’t.”

The 36-year-old McCoy had a 1-1 record as the team’s quarterback when Murray was out for two games last month.

Murray is a two-time Pro Bowl selection who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 draft out of Oklahoma. The 25-year-old signed a $230.5 million contract during the offseason that could keep him with the franchise until 2028.

Murray was playing in his 11th game this season. Coming into Monday’s game, he had thrown for 2,359 yards, 14 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

The Cardinals have been plagued by injuries this season, particularly on the offense. They’re missing four of their starting offensive linemen and lost tight end Zach Ertz for the season, also because of a knee injury.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.