Deebo Samuel, Kyler Murray among players on the hot seat in NFC West

Eric Williams

NFC West Writer

Sean McVay says at the start of every offseason that each year stands on its own and there’s no guarantee your team will be good based on how it performed the year before.

For the Los Angeles Rams and the rest of the NFC West, that means building a new identity as teams finish OTAs and look to the beginning of training camp at the end of July.

For the past two years, the path to the top spot in the division has gone through the San Francisco 49ers. And the expectation is that it will not be any different in 2024, with the 49ers a betting favorite to advance to the Super Bowl again.

However, each NFC West team can point to a path to the postseason if everything goes as planned. And all four teams have a key player who can be instrumental in getting them there. Here, we look at that key player on the hot seat for each team.

Arizona Cardinals, QB Kyler Murray

Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort and head coach Jonathan Gannon could have moved off of Murray in their first season in Arizona. Instead, the leadership duo embraced the team’s uniquely talented quarterback, surrounding him with more playmakers with the hopes of getting the Cardinals back to the postseason.

And Murray has taken the team’s approach to heart, recommitting himself to his craft and taking on more of a leadership role as the highest-paid player on the team. At age 26 and fully healthy after ACL rehab, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 draft should be entering the prime of his career.

Last season, he completed 65.7% of his passes for 1,799 yards, with 10 touchdowns and five interceptions. The Cardinals finished 3-5 with Murray under center after winning just one game in the first half of the season. Arizona averaged 22.4 points per game with Murray at quarterback, and 16.8 points per contest in the first nine games when he was sidelined.

Along with drafting receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., running back Trey Benson and tight end Tip…

Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/deebo-samuel-kyler-murray-among-players-hot-seat-nfc-west

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Publish date : 2024-05-30 19:58:22

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