Has Kyler Murray been benched? Yes, yes he has. Sure, Murray has been dealing with a foot sprain which allowed backup Jacoby Brissett to take over, but that foot sprain must be pretty good now, as head coach Jonathan Gannon told reporters on Saturday that Brissett will get the start and Murray could have a “role,” per Jonathan Jones.
Gannon probably wouldn’t label this as a benching, but what else can you call it? If Murray can have a role during an NFL game, he’s healthy enough to start and he is not starting. Brissett has played well in his absence, but there were plenty of reasons to believe Murray would return to the starting role when healthy enough. His huge contract and ability to run being two of the more prominent thoughts.
Murray could still get his job back, especially if Brissett falters, but, this will be Brissett’s team this week in a tremendous matchup against a horrible Cowboys pass defense. If he can play well, I just don’t see them going back to Murray too quickly.
Fantasy football fallout
This is great news for those who held onto Brissett and awful news with those needing Murray to play. The Cowboys have allowed big games to the likes of Russell Wilson, Bryce Young, Justin Fields, and Bo Nix just last week threw for four touchdowns against them, his highest on the season. They have given up by far the most fantasy points to quarterbacks on the season and Brissett is a start this week in all leagues.
Brissett hasn’t targeted Marvin Harrison Jr. quite as much as Murray had earlier in the season, as he’s spread the ball around a bit more. But he has focused on stud tight end Trey McBride, truly elevating his fantasy upside this season. Over the last two games, McBride has caught 18 passes for 146 yards and three touchdowns. Against the Cowboys, he’s easily the No. 1 fantasy tight end this week, while Harrison Jr. gets a matchup bump and is startable even if he’s not seeing a huge target load.
Bam Knight and Michael Carter will split work and the team will ride the hot hand, but it looks like Knight will get the first snap this week and he won’t need to be elevated from the practice squad. I like Knight as a start this week.
