Kyler Murray is coming back from a knee injury. That was always going to sideline him for the offseason (and longer). But the Cardinals may need another quarterback for the offseason, depending on the health of backup Colt McCoy.
On the newest episode of the "Dave Pasch Podcast," Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill was the guest, breaking down the team's search for both a GM and a head coach, among many things in a 45-minute segment. But he also noted an unspecified injury for McCoy that the veteran is rehabbing.
"Colt is coming back from an injury that is going to limit him in the offseason," Bidwill said. "It's another set of dynamics that (OC) Drew (Petzing) and JG (Jonathan Gannon) have to work through, and Monti (Ossenfort).
"We'll see what exactly the plan is. That's not for me to figure out, that's for those guys to figure out."
The quarterbacks beyond Murray and McCoy are both free agents -- David Blough is restricted, Trace McSorley is unrestricted.
As for Kyler, Bidwill said Murray is "in here every day" and the owner said he thinks Murray is ahead of schedule coming back from his ACL tear.
"I think (his return) is going to be earlier than this midseason, so hopefully it's toward the beginning of the season, but I don't want to put any specific dates," Bidwill said. "There could be setbacks, the progress could slow. But he's a young man, it looks like he is a fast healer, things are going well. Let's hope that keeps going the way it is."
Bidwill said in his conversations with Gannon, the hope is that the new offense will "try to take some of the pressure off" Murray.
"The way the offense was before he had a choice on almost every play we ran, so we were making him think too much and putting too much pressure on him," Bidwill said. "We need him to play faster and with that confidence that, 'OK, I don't have to get every first down.' "
A couple of other notes from the podcast:
-- Bidwill said he had "multiple communications" about the potential coach not only with Murray but also with other players, naming Zach Ertz and Budda Baker among them. He also talked to multiple sources outside the building when learning about candidates.
"I tried to get a 360-degree view of every candidate, whether it was general manager or head coach," Bidwill said.
-- The owner said Gannon had about "85 to 90" percent of his coaching staff in place. (An official announcement about the coaching staff beyond coordinators likely won't come until the staff is complete.)
-- Top on the roster to-do list? "Clearly" it is offensive line and defensive line, Bidwill said. He added that the Cardinals are interested in bringing back free agent defensive lineman Zach Allen and "I think he wants to be here."
