Arizona Cardinals practice was short on Oct. 28 as the team returned from its annual bye week. But quarterback Kyler Murray took part, and in so doing took a step toward returning as the starter on Nov. 3, when the Cardinals face the Dallas Cowboys near Murray’s hometown in Texas.
Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon didn’t name Murray the starting quarterback for the game, but has maintained that once Murray is fully back from a foot injury that has cost him the past two games, he would start.
Murray moved around and threw passes in practice.
“He’s doing better,” Gannon said.
Gannon and the Cardinals coaching staff spent time in the bye week taking a longer and more detailed look at what the team can fix to end a five-game losing streak. All of the defeats have been close, and Jacoby Brissett has been the quarterback in the past two games.
Murray started the first three games of that winless streak.
“We looked at a couple of things (on offense) that might help (Murray) out, that he feels a little more comfortable with some of the things that we’ve been doing,” Gannon said. “But he’ll be his normal self when he gets out there.”
Injury updates and roster moves
Defensive back Garrett Williams, who hasn’t played since Week 2 and had been on injured reserve with a knee injury, was designated to return to practice. Williams, in his third season, was in on 11 tackles and broke up a pass in two games this season before going down.
Williams practiced on Oct. 28 and can be activated to the 53-man roster at any point over the next 21 days.
“He’s a good football player, so obviously we’ve missed that,” Gannon said. “We’ll see how he does this week and see how this fits together and do the best thing for the team.”
Outside linebacker BJ Ojulari is set to return to practice on Oct. 30 after a prolonged absence due to a torn ACL. He is in the same situation as Williams, with his practice window to be opened.
Ojulari has not played since his rookie season in 2023.
“Obviously have a high opinion of him and I think he can help us,” Gannon said. “He’s smart, he’ll get caught up. I know he’s been itching to get out there.”
Linebacker Zaven Collins said Ojulari sits next to him in position meetings and asks questions about the game plan.
“When he is available he’s going to hit the ground running,” Collins said of Ojulari.
Also, the Cardinals released running back Michael Carter and defensive back Darren Hall for roster management matters, but both have returned to the team on the practice squad.
The Cardinals released wide receiver Bryson Green, running back D’Ernest Johnson and tight end Nick Muse from the practice squad.
Out of the bye with a reset
Gannon spoke of a reset for the Cardinals with the bye week. At 2-5, the Cardinals are trying to turn things around and get a much-needed win, and everyone had work to do, even though football wasn’t played.
“We worked, there was no doubt we needed to,” Gannon said. “But I like some of the things that we came back in the building with. I’ve got to see them come to fruition.”
An emphasis was holding onto leads and closing out teams.
“There’s nothing drastic. If everyone does their job a little bit better, starting with me, we’ll have a better chance to get the result we want.” Gannon said.
The players are “rejuvenated and ready to do,” Gannon said.
“We’ve got to obviously play better than we’ve played to win the game.”
José M. Romero can be reached at jose.romero@gannett.com. Follow him on X at @RomeroJoseM or Instagram at @romerojosem.