When Kyler Murray and Marquise Brown are on the field together, teammate Greg Dortch can't help but notice their friendship bleeding over into the game.
"They just have a chemistry you can't really coach," the wide receiver said. "This is a grown man's game, but they are like kids out there, having fun with each other. It's fun watching them click like that."
It was fun Monday for Kliff Kingsbury too, now that his starting quarterback and key offseason acquisition finally practiced together in training camp for the first time. Murray had slowly ramped back into practice after a bout with Covid and wrist soreness; Brown was coming off a hamstring issue suffered before camp.
"Kyler looked sharp and Hollywood looked fast," Kingsbury said. "That's what we are looking for. We just have to keep building that rapport."
It was helpful on Monday given the Cardinals' shortage at tight end. Trey McBride and Maxx Williams remain limited while Zach Ertz (calf) and Stephen Anderson (ankle) were out. That led Kingsbury to run some "10" personnel with Brown, DeAndre Hopkins, Rondale Moore and A.J. Green.
"It looked like we could have some fun with that," Kingsbury acknowledged.
It also looked like the Cardinals could have some fun with the long-awaited Murray-to-Brown connection.
"We were chomping at the bit to get those guys out there together," Kingsbury said. "They had some nice plays together and I think it will just grow the more Marquise gets comfortable within our system."
THE FIRST LOOK AT BLACK HELMETS ON THE FIELD
The Cardinals will wear their alternate black helmets in a game for the first time Sunday night when they host the Baltimore Ravens. By rule, the team must wear the helmets for a week of practice before using them in a game, so the Cardinals were sporting the new-look lids.
"They look sharp," Kingsbury said.
Running back Keaontay Ingram said before practice, the players were excited about the helmets. A mannequin was set up in the locker room to show the players what the full uniform combo would look like.
"We bring it out so early and I get to play (Sunday), so hey," Ingram said with a smile. "I love them. I love the all black. That savage look. that's my type of model."
WESLEY 'TOUCH AND GO'
Kingsbury said wide receiver Antoine Wesley is still going to be sidelined 1-to-2 weeks and even then will be "touch and go," with the team watching him closely to see how he holds up.
Aside from Anderson, who will miss a week or two, wide receiver Andre Baccellia also hurt his ankle and is on a similar timeline to be sidelined. Dortch sat out Monday with a knee contusion but said he would return to practice Tuesday.
Quarterback Colt McCoy still wasn't throwing in the open portion of practice. Center Rodney Hudson and linebacker Markus Golden remained DNPs.
RAVENS PLAYING TIME PLAN
Kingsbury said the plan to play players and who will be starting will be "similar" to what the Cardinals did in Cincinnati. That would mean a significant portion of the regular starters would sit out, and it's unlikely Murray will get any snaps in the preseason.
