Hall of Famer and Cardinals legend Kurt Warner emphasized Arizona’s commitment to Kyler Murray when it comes to the conversation on who should be the starting quarterback for the team.
Warner joined Arizona Sports’ Bickley & Marotta on Friday and said that the commitment to Murray makes it very difficult to make a switch at quarterback and that backup Jacoby Brissett’s production hasn’t done enough to warrant a change at the position.
“You’ve made your commitment to Kyler and I don’t know if there’s really a chance to make a move,” Warner said. “Whether it Kyler or Jacoby, they were still playing close games and they were still in situations to win every football game so it’s not as if this team was struggling and getting blown out with Kyler and now all of sudden Jacoby comes in and they’re winning football games.”
“You’ve made your commitment to Kyler and I don’t know if there’s really a chance to make a move.”
Kurt Warner on the discussion around whether the Arizona Cardinals should roll with Kyler Murray or Jacoby Brissett.
Full interview on @Bickley_Marotta: https://t.co/cNMqUTrKHJ pic.twitter.com/Mi6lo9b1uk
— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) October 24, 2025
Murray’s financial commitment plays a part in the situation as he signed a five-year contract extension ahead of the 2022 season that will run through 2028.
In five games played this season, Murray has thrown for 962 yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions while adding 173 yards and a score on the ground.
Murray has missed the last two games due to a foot injury. Brissett has started in place for Murray, throwing for nearly 600 yards and four touchdowns in the Cardinals’ losses to the Indianapolis Colts and Green Bay Packers, respectively.
Despite Brissett’s decent numbers, head coach Jonathan Gannon has stressed that Murray will be the starting quarterback for the Cardinals when healthy.
Warner said it will be critical for Murray to start when he’s back in order for the Cardinals to determine if he’s the long-term answer at quarterback.
“To me, this is Kyler’s job just for the long-term of the team saying ‘hey this is our guy and we’re gonna commit to him for the long-term or if they decide to go in a different direction at some point,'” Warner said.
Warner stresses importance of Cardinals quarterbacks making plays in the pocket
Warner said that it will be crucial for the Cardinals to have a quarterback that can make plays while in the pocket no matter who is starting.
“I do believe that even with the great athletic quarterbacks we have in the NFL world right now, you have to be able to consistently make plays in the pocket to be elite, to separate yourself and to give your team a chance to win in the biggest moments and on a consistent basis,” Warner said.
Warner added that Murray, along with other NFL quarterbacks such as Lamar Jackson, do a great job at making athletic plays out of the pocket but it’s a difficult task when a quarterback has to make several of those type of plays in order to win games.
“Kyler and Lamar and all those guys can do that at an extreme level. I think it’s a tough formula to consistently win and play at the level (because) I believe that the plays inside the pocket are things that you have to be able to do,” Warner said.