Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray likely tore his ACL early in Monday night’s loss to the Patriots and that leaves Colt McCoy in position to start for the rest of the season.
McCoy wasn’t able to rally the team to a win while going 27-of-40 for 246 yards and an interception, but said he felt prepared to play despite limited work with the first team heading into the game. He started two games when Murray was injured earlier this year and outlined his view of what he will have to do the rest of the way during a postgame press conference.
“I don’t think I have anything to prove. I think I’ve just got to go out there and play good football. Distribute the ball, keep us in third and manageable situations, and score touchdowns in the red zone. . . . As a group we have to buckle down and play well together, practice well together, and finish these last four games out,” McCoy said. “That will be my focus. It sucks for Kyler. We’ve been together for two years. We’ve been together every day. I don’t ever want to see anything like that happen. I know how much he cares about the game, I know how hard he works. It’s just unfortunate. I think I’ll be able to put my arm around him with this because I’ve dealt with many in my career.”
McCoy has been in the NFL for more than a decade and he’s been a backup for almost all of that time, so it’s unlikely that these four games will be the springboard to a starting job. That should make it easier to keep the focus on the immediate future before what should be an interesting offseason in Arizona.
