Breaking: Cardinals Key Man Ruled Out for Critical Week 16 Game
There are three known certainties in life. Death, taxes and a shaky finish to the season for the Arizona Cardinals. The Kyler Murray era is defined by promising beginnings and lackluster conclusions (“How I Met Your Mother” and “Succession” might come to mind for some people). The final three games of the 2024-25 campaign present the quarterback with an opportunity to silence the skeptics and prove that he is the long-term solution for the franchise.
But can he do that without his starting left tackle? Former Consensus All-American Paris Johnson Jr. is being ruled out with a knee injury for Sunday afternoon’s road game against the Carolina Panthers, per Around The NFL. Murray will have to be extremely conscious when working from the pocket, as the Cardinals try to fill this glaring hole as best as possible.
Arizona (7-7) trails the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks by one game for first place in the NFC West and sits two games behind the Washington Commanders for the last NFC Wild Card slot. The team must win out in order to even have a shot at squeezing into the playoffs. A road trip to Bank of America Stadium is not as breezy as Carolina’s 3-11 record suggests, despite what the weather report indicates.
Kyler Murray, Cardinals cannot take their opponent lightly
The scrappy Panthers would gain much satisfaction in delivering the fatal blow to the Cardinals’ season. Their defensive line is probably lighting up after learning that Johnson will not be in the trenches. He is a big reason why Arizona is still in contention, courtesy of a standout second year in the NFL.
The No. 6 overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft has allowed four sacks and 23 total pressures in 865 offensive snaps. Johnson boasts a 78.1 pass-blocking grade, according to Pro Football Focus, making his absence quite notable. Kyler Murray has only been sacked 23 times in 2024, so he might be in for a rude awakening in Week 16.
Nevertheless, he and the Cardinals must quickly adapt to their Paris Johnson-less offensive line versus the Panthers. Opening kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET.
