TEMPE, Ariz. — Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray has a torn ACL and will miss the remainder of the season.
Cardinals Coach Kliff Kingsbury confirmed the extent of the injury during his Tuesday news conference.
The news is not a surprise after the 25-year-old injured his knee on the third play of Monday night’s 27-13 loss to the New England Patriots.
The fourth-year quarterback was flushed out of the pocket and running to his right when he tried to juke past a Patriots defender, but tumbled to the grass in obvious pain.
Players from both teams surrounded the quarterback before he was carted off the field with a towel draped over his head.
The Cardinals and Kingsbury feared that Murray had a serious injury after Monday’s game with Kingsbury admitting it “doesn’t look good.”
Further tests on Tuesday confirmed that pessimism.
Murray was replaced by backup Colt McCoy, who will likely remain the starter for the rest of the season. The Cardinals (4-9) have lost 5 of 6, including their past three.
BROWNS: Linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah will miss the final four games of the season after sustaining a left foot injury late in Sunday’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Owusu-Koramoah was placed on injured reserve. He’s the fourth Browns linebacker lost for the season because of injury, joining middle linebackers Anthony Walker Jr., Jacob Phillips and Sione Takitaki.
STEELERS: Quarterback Kenny Pickett’s status for this week’s visit to Carolina is uncertain after entering the concussion protocol for the second time in two months.
Pickett was pulled from a 16-14 loss to Baltimore last Sunday in the first quarter after showing signs of a concussion. Pickett’s head slammed into the Acrisure Stadium turf while getting sacked by Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith. He was evaluated for a concussion and cleared to return, playing one series before he was re-evaluated and removed from the game.
Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin said he had no issue with the circumstances surrounding Pickett’s exit.
Asked if he believes the protocol should be amended in light of the delayed onset of symptoms for Pickett, Tomlin replied “not at all.”
“When someone in the protocol is evaluated by the experts, they’re either cleared to participate or not,” Tomlin said. “Even when they are (cleared), which (Pickett) was, they watched him continually. As they continued to watch him, they decided to pull him and that’s the reality of it.”
Pickett’s availability for Pittsburgh’s trip to the improving Panthers (5-8) will likely depend on whether he is cleared of the protocol in time to return to practice. If Pickett can’t go, either Mitch Trubisky or Mason Rudolph will get the start as the Steelers (5-8) try to avoid clinching the first losing season of Tomlin’s 16-year tenure.
BILLS: Receiver Cole Beasley ended a brief retirement to take one more shot at extending his career by reuniting with Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills.
Beasley was signed to Buffalo’s practice squad, rejoining the team that cut him in March for salary-cap reasons and after failing in their bid to trade him. The 11th-year player was out of work until being signed to Tampa Bay’s practice squad in late September.
The 33-year-old Beasley had four catches for 17 yards in two games with the Buccaneers before announcing his retirement on Oct. 5.
The AFC-leading Bills (10-3) have won four straight games and have the inside track to clinch their third consecutive AFC East title. Buffalo hosts division rival Miami (8-5) on Saturday night.
Despite the success, the Bills continue searching for consistent production from their receiving group behind Stefon Diggs on an offense that ranks second in yards gained and sixth in yards passing in the NFL.
FALCONS: The Atlanta Falcons released running back Damien Williams, the veteran who never returned after a rib injury in his first game with the team.
The release of Williams came one day after Coach Arthur Smith announced rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder will start in Sunday’s game at New Orleans. Marcus Mariota has been benched, leaving his status for the remainder of the season uncertain.
Smith said the switch to Ridder was performance based, but added Mariota is having a chronic knee problem checked out and was expected to be placed on injured reserve.
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