Kyler Murray! The seventh-year quarterback, of course, is going to be your answer to the questions in our headline of this story.
As he goes, the Arizona Cardinals will go. Maybe it’s obvious.
But if the Cardinals really do push for a playoff spot this year, as is the expectation, then he will need help. There will be nuance to this, too, if Murray is who he already is as a solid, mid-tier starting NFL quarterback.
We asked our Arizona Sports 98.7 hosts what will swing Arizona’s 2025 season for better or worse. Here are their answers:
What is the biggest swing factor that will determine the Cardinals’ success or failure this season?
John Gambadoro, co-host of Burns & Gambo: I will go against the Kyler Murray grain and say the biggest factor will be the young cornerbacks.
Can Max Melton and Will Johnson hold up against top receivers, week in and week out?
Because if not, the Cardinals will be in trouble. Remember: No Sean Murphy-Bunting and no Starling Thomas due to injuries, and general manager Monti Ossenfort decided not to sign a veteran, believing in the talent he has. But offensive coordinators will test those guys, and they will need to be up to the task.
If they are good, the Cardinals make the playoffs. If they are overmatched, they won’t.
Luke Lapinski, co-host of Wolf & Luke: I want to give an answer that doesn’t involve Murray just for the sake of variety, but it wouldn’t be right. There are other pivot points on this team — how quickly the young corners can evolve from inexperienced to playoff-caliber, for one — but the reality is it ultimately comes back to the quarterback. Especially this year.
A pessimistic Cardinals fan will tell you Murray’s had plenty of time to prove he can win in this league, and he hasn’t done it. Going into year seven, he has one playoff appearance and exactly zero postseason wins. He’s put together some great moments, but he has yet to truly finish a year strong. At a certain point, you are what you are.
A more optimistic observer will point out that Murray’s only had one full season under Jonathan Gannon, though. They’ll also note he’s looked like a different quarterback in Drew Petzing’s offense, and his teammates legitimately see him as more of a leader than they did earlier in his career. That person might even point out how much better off Arizona is at the QB position than roughly half the league is right now.
To me, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. And it’s largely irrelevant once the season kicks off Sunday anyway. No matter how you view his career up to this point, the time is now for Murray to get his team into the playoffs. The NFC West is strong, but it’s also wide open. There really isn’t an elite team the Cardinals have to go through. Murray has maybe the best tight end in football at his disposal in Trey McBride, and an emerging weapon in Marvin Harrison Jr., who’s ready to make the jump in year two — the point in a player’s career where they typically make the biggest leap. Ossenfort spent the offseason loading Arizona’s defense up with talent, too, meaning the points Kyler and the offense manufacture should be a lot more impactful in 2025.
In other words, Murray is set up for success — maybe more so now than at any other point in his career. If he delivers, he’ll be the Cardinals’ quarterback for the foreseeable future. He might even get an extension next offseason. But if the Cardinals stumble, most of the blame will likely land on his shoulders. That’s just life as a quarterback at the highest level. The opportunity has never been greater for him. And the stakes have never been higher.
Dave Burns, co-host of Burns & Gambo: It’s Murray, but it’s not.
The biggest swing factor is a defense that minimizes Murray as much as you can minimize a quarterback in the NFL. Of course, it’s impossible to do that completely; at several points throughout the season, you will need your quarterback to do something special.
And Murray will have to produce those moments and develop a better on-field connection with Harrison. But the hope here — and the reason I’m so bullish on this team this year — is that they’ve constructed a defense that will make them much less dependent on the quarterback.
Vince Marotta, co-host of Bickley & Marotta: “The Cardinals will go as far as Kyler Murray will take them.”
How many times have you heard that? If you’ve followed the Cardinals during the Murray era, the answer is A LOT. Obviously, Murray’s performance is key to the Cardinals reaching the postseason for the first time since 2021. But I’m not bracing for a huge statistical jump where Murray throws for 4,500 yards and 35 touchdowns.
I’m also not expecting a bottoming out statistically. That’s not to say there isn’t room for improvement, and where that needs to happen is in the ball security department. Murray threw 11 interceptions last season, and that’s not a horrible number. But the timing of those interceptions was concerning.
Kyler threw eight interceptions after the bye week. He threw picks in five of seven games, and the Cardinals went 0-5 in those contests. Late-game interceptions popped in the road games at Seattle, Minnesota, Carolina and LA and crippled the Cardinals’ chances of winning. That trend absolutely has to swing in the other direction for this team to accomplish its goals.
Dan Bickley, co-host of Bickley & Marotta: The offensive line will be the biggest swing factor for the Cardinals.
If Monti Ossenfort has truly built a fortress of depth and talent upfront, it will unlock the offense, power the running game and provide a comfort zone that Kyler Murray needs to finally reach his true potential.
Tyler Drake, Cardinals reporter and co-host of the Cardinals Corner podcast: It’s been talked about too much not to mention here: The connection between Murray and Harrison.
A lot has been made about their improved chemistry and connection — not to mention Harrison’s bulked-up frame — throughout training camp.
Now, it’s about making it count when it matters most.
In all reality, Harrison wasn’t that far off from his marks as a rookie. Eight touchdowns is a legit number to hit for a first-year pro, and had the connection with Murray been there earlier in the season, Harrison could have been a 1,000-yard receiver. He finished just 115 yards short after all.
If the connection is really where many expect it to be, 1,000 yards and eight touchdowns is the baseline this year — even with a target monster in McBride on the roster.
If Arizona can do that, it’ll open up other aspects of the offense. More eyes on Harrison means less on other playmakers like McBride and running back James Conner. That connection could also open up the door for Michael Wilson and Zay Jones to eat more than they have in the past.
Mitch Vareldzis, co-host of Arizona Sports at Night: I’m going to go with what I think is against the grain and say the defensive front seven.
We have, for the most part, made that group an afterthought of this team, in the sense that we all expect them to perform well and be a big part of the team’s success.
But what happens if they don’t perform up to expectations?
What happens if the health of the line, which was a big problem last year, comes into play again this year?
What happens if the veteran additions brought in play like they’re cashing a check rather than trying to win every down?
What happens if the draft investments in Darius Robinson and Walter Nolen III end up not paying dividends?
It’s an easy group to overlook because we agree it’s the Cardinals’ strength. But how this team manages if their seemingly obvious strength becomes a weakness is what I think truly determines their season.
Kellan Olson, co-host of Arizona Sports at Night: How great the defense will be. The keyword there is “great.” Not just good.
Nick Rallis did his darndest to put lipstick on a pig with the severe talent deficiencies on that side of the ball the last two years, and his innovative utilization of the components is now paired with actual talent.
What “swings” this is if there are more game-changers and if the weaknesses are weak enough to cripple the foundation. Budda Baker needs to be joined by someone to consistently impact games, and it’s likely just a combination of the defensive line and edge group. Even if the cornerback room is more talented than expected, it’s incredibly young and unproven, while the linebacker next to Mack Wilson is going to be a hole all year.
Murray is what he is at this point. He needs a great running game (check) and a great defense (TBD) to lead a playoff team.
