Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray has been sacked 16 times this season. He was sacked eight times last weekend against the Carolina Panthers, five times in the fourth quarter alone.
He is on pace to be sacked 85 times this season, which would beat the NFL record by a wide margin. David Carr was sacked 76 times in the Houston Texans’ inaugural season of 2002.
However, head coach Kliff Kingsbury isn’t too concerned.
He told reporters as much on Wednesday before practice. When asked if he was concerned, he said, “I’m not, honestly.”
Why not?
“That’s part of the process of being a rookie,” he said. “We understand in those three games we’ve had to drop back and throw it a lot more than we want to and anticipate doing.”
Another reason why Kingsbury isn’t concerned right now is the type of sacks they have been.
“If you look at it, they haven’t been of the violent variety, if you will,” he said. “There are some things where he’s going down in the pocket. They’re getting a hand on him here and there.”
Kingsbury called them “learning experiences” and said that “it’s a learning curve that we’re going through.”
He emphasized that Murray has to do better at getting rid of the football.
“He’s got to learn, when the party’s over, to get rid of it,” Kingsbury said. “You appreciate the fact he wants to make every play and bring us back, but there are no 21-point touchdown passes.”
According to Pro Football Focus, seven of the 16 sacks are on Murray and not his blockers. Murray will get better. Kingsbury knows that.
It “comes with time.”
Hopefully, some of that improvement shows up in Week 4.
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