Rams coach Sean McVay is not traveling with the team to Arizona today.
McVay has an illness and is traveling separately, the team announced. McVay still plans to coach the Rams against the Cardinals tomorrow.
Although the nature of the illness has not been reported, indications are that he is traveling separately primarily as a precaution against getting players sick on the team flight. McVay worked his usual schedule on Friday.
The Rams are 10-point favorites at Arizona on Sunday.
Cardinals Clips
Rams wide receiver Tutu Atwell has not played since Oct. 19 when he injured a hamstring. Coach Sean McVay said on Nov. 24 that he expected Atwell to return for Week 13, that Atwell was “ready to roll.”
Eleven days later, though, Atwell remains on injured reserve. McVay said Friday that Atwell is ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Cardinals.
Atwell will miss his sixth consecutive game.
The Rams have one more week to decide whether to activate Atwell from injured reserve or let him finish the season on injured reserve. McVay indicated earlier this week that it’s about finding a roster spot for Atwell rather than Atwell having had a setback in his recovery.
“I have a lot of love for him and what he’s done and how he’s handled it,” McVay said. “It’s been a unique set of circumstances relative to the timing and figuring out how you get 48 guys up and being able to balance that out relative to how many on offense, how many on defense and your three specialists. That’s not something that we’ve explored or really thought is a possibility, but you never know.”
Atwell signed a $10 million contract in the offseason but has only four catches for 164 yards and a touchdown this season.
The Rams list cornerback Darious Williams (tibia) as doubtful and defensive tackle Poona Ford (calf) as questionable.
Yes, the Cardinals and quarterback Kyler Murray are destined for an offseason divorce.
Friday’s announcement that Murray won’t play again this year for the Cardinals wasn’t a surprise. For some, it was expected.
The Cardinals already owe Murray $39.8 million, fully guaranteed, for 2026. If he’s on the roster on the fifth day of the 2026 league year, another $19.5 million in 2027 salary becomes fully guaranteed, too.
Because the 2027 money currently isn’t guaranteed in any way, including for injury, the Cardinals have a window to release him. Healthy or not.
Even if he’s currently healthy, there’s no reason to risk an injury that would open the door to another $19.5 million for Murray.
It’s the fourth straight year an NFL team has shut down a starting quarterback to minimize future liability. The Raiders did it with Derek Carr in 2022. The Broncos did it with Russell Wilson in 2023. The Giants did it with Daniel Jones in 2024.
Now, the Cardinals will stop the bleeding at $39.5 million — without risking the possibility that it will increase to $59 million.
And while a trade remains possible, the Cardinals would surely have to pay a large chunk of the $39.5 million that Murray is owed in 2026. Cutting Murray would allow him to do a one-year deal for the veteran minimum with another team, like Wilson did with the Steelers in 2024, with the rest of the money coming from the Cardinals.
Regardless, today’s news is the next step toward the inevitable announcement that the Cardinals have released Murray. At this point, any other outcome would be a shock.
The biggest news in Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon’s Friday press conference was that quarterback Kyler Murray will not play for the team again this season, but Gannon also shared some other injury information for Week 14’s game against the Rams.
Wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.'s status was at the top of that list. Harrison has been ruled out for Sunday because of the heel injury he suffered in last weekend’s loss to the Buccaneers. Harrison had missed the previous two games after having an appendectomy, so this will be his third time out of the lineup in the last four games.
Greg Dortch (chest) will also miss the game, so the Cardinals will be thin at wideout as they try to send the Rams to their second straight loss.
Defensive tackle Walter Nolen (knee), cornerback Max Melton (heel), and safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson (ankle) are the others out this week while running back Trey Benson (knee) will not be activated from injured reserve.
Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray’s season is over.
Murray has not played since Week 5 due to a foot injury and head coach Jonathan Gannon said at his Friday press conference that Murray will not return to action before the end of the season. Gannon said that Murray had more tests done earlier this week and that the injury is “not progressing where it’s gonna make sense that he can go.”
With Murray’s season over, attention will now shift to where he will be playing during the 2026 season. Gannon said he’s only worried about this week’s game against the Rams right now, but speculation about the quarterback’s future began before he went on injured reserve and his extended absence from the lineup won’t do anything to endure he’ll return next year.
Gannon’s own uncertain future could have an impact on Murray’s outlook. If the team does make a coaching change, the incoming coach’s view of the best path forward on offense would be part of any decision regarding Murray’s future in Arizona.
Rams receiver Davante Adams did not practice on Wednesday and was upgraded to a limited participant on Thursday with a hamstring injury.
Adams told reporters that it’s not the same hamstring issue that bothered him earlier in the season and he feels like he should be OK to play this weekend against the Cardinals.
“It’s a little different spot, but it’s feeling good, though,” Adams said, via transcript from the team. “I’m feeling much better than what I anticipated and honestly just wanted to be smart about it. I felt it early in the game last week and was able to get through the game just fine.
“I just want to manage it. We have a turtle race coming up here so we just have to make sure we are available.”
Adams currently leads the league with 14 touchdown receptions, having caught at least one in each of Los Angeles’ last six games.
In his first season with the Rams, Adams has 52 receptions for 689 yards.
Rams wide receiver Davante Adams didn’t practice on Wednesday because of hamstring soreness.
He returned to limited work on Thursday.
Running back Kyren Williams (ankle) remained a limited participant on Thursday.
Rams coach Sean McVay said earlier this week that he expects Adams and Williams to play against the Cardinals.
Cornerback Darious Williams (tibia) and nose tackle Poona Ford (calf) remained non-participants.
Safety Kamren Kinchens (shoulder) and outside linebacker Byron Young (knee) again were limited.
Inside linebacker Omar Speights (ankle) returned to full participation after being limited on Wednesday.
Rams coach Sean McVay said earlier this week that injuries to wide receiver Davante Adams and running back Kyren Williams should not affect their game status for Week 14.
Adams’ hamstring soreness, though, kept him out of Wednesday’s practice.
He played 39 snaps and made four catches for 58 yards and two touchdowns.
Williams’ ankle injury limited him in the first practice of the week.
He left the loss to the Panthers, playing 35 of 52 snaps and running for 72 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries.
The Rams also had cornerback Darious Williams (tibia) and nose tackle Poona Ford (calf) as non-participants.
Safety Kamren Kinchens (shoulder), inside linebacker Omar Speights (ankle) and outside linebacker Byron Young (knee) were limited.
Wide receiver Tutu Atwell (hamstring) fully participated.
The Cardinals will not have quarterback Kyler Murray back on the practice field this week, but another one of the team’s injured players will be returning to work.
The team announced that they have opened the practice window for defensive lineman L.J. Collier. Collier has been out since injuring his knee in Week 2. He will have a three-week window to practice with the team and can be activated at any point.
Running back Trey Benson and offensive lineman Christian Jones have also been designated for return by the Cardinals recently.
The Cardinals also signed tight end Pharaoh Brown to the active roster. He has appeared in three games for the team this season.
What was supposed to be the slow time from late June through late July was anything but, thanks to an unexpected collaboration with Pablo Torre. And the fuse we lit together in the days preceding July 4 is making its final push toward either an impressive display of fireworks — or another dud.
Per multiple sources, a decision on the appeal of the collusion ruling that both the NFL and the NFL Players Association hid for multiple months is coming.
The hearing before the three-judge panel happened roughly two weeks ago, we’re told. The decision is expected sooner than later, we’re told.
The case was sparked by the five-year, $230 million, fully-guaranteed contract that the Browns gave to quarterback Deshaun Watson in March 2022. As originally framed, the grievance focused on the refusal of the Ravens, Cardinals, and Broncos to give fully-guaranteed deals to Lamar Jackson, Kyler Murray, and Russell Wilson, respectively.
The arbitrator found that the NFL urged teams to curtail fully-guaranteed contracts, but that the teams didn’t heed the directive. It was, in my opinion, a failure by the arbitrator to properly review, process, and analyze the circumstantial evidence, accepting predictable denials while ignoring common sense.
Along the way, the case was expanded to include all veterans who signed contracts during the relevant window. If the NFLPA prevails as to all players who were allegedly affected by the collusion, the financial consequences could be crippling for the league.
The reporting that first emerged in an episode of Pablo Torre Finds Out exposed the existence of the hidden ruling, raising pointed questions about the union’s failure to weaponize the portion of the ruling that essentially caught the NFL with both hands buried in the collusion cookie jar. And it became the first domino that resulted in aggressive scrutiny of the NFLPA, culminating in the resignations of NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell and NFLPA chief strategy officer JC Tretter.
After the collusion ruling came to light, the NFLPA appealed the decision. That process has played out quietly, with no reporting as to the arguments made, either in writing or during the hearing.
When a decision is announced, we’ll possibly be back to where we were in January, when the initial ruling was issued. Will the NFL or the NFLPA release the document? Or will they once again hide it? Will the media collectively shrug at the situation (as it did for months), or will it aggressively seek to obtain the decision, to study its terms, and to analyze its implications?
The vast majority of the “journalism” that happens in sports media consists of being spoon fed by the team or an agent the specifics of a transaction that often is announced only minutes after multiple reporters engage in a race to be the first to tweet the “news.” When the parties are committed to secrecy, the game changes. Most don’t even try to find out the things they don’t want us to know.
They didn’t want us to know about the initial collusion ruling. They may not want us to know about the appeal decision. One thing I know is that Torre won’t let it go, and that there will likely be another PTFO collaboration once we get our eyes on the thing they may hope no one ever sees.
