Over the last two weeks, the question of is Kyler Murray playing has hovered over fantasy football managers. As the Arizona Cardinals‘ QB continues to deal with a hamstring injury, should we expect to see him on the field when they face the San Francisco 49ers in Mexico?
Let’s examine the latest updates on Murray’s status and what it all means for fantasy managers looking to make their decisions on Sunday morning.
Is Kyler Murray Playing Monday?
After Murray missed last week’s game, the hope was that he would be back in time for the Week 11 contest in Mexico. However, Murray was only able to practice in a limited fashion all week and was listed as questionable on the Cardinals’ final injury report.
When head coach Kliff Kingsbury had spoken to the media on Wednesday, he described Murray as day-to-day. He was also hopeful that one of Murray or Colt McCoy would at least be available. That turned out to be the case with McCoy, who was a full participant at practice on Friday.
We also found out that Murray’s hamstring injury is one that he aggravated in Week 9. Murray told the media on Wednesday that he initially suffered the injury in Week 8 against the Minnesota Vikings. Therefore, that could complicate the decision to bring him back this week.
MORE: Is DeAndre Hopkins Playing Monday vs. the 49ers?
Murray also went on to add that if he is to play, he has “got to be able to do what I do.” He also stated that there is a fine line to consider when it comes to the upside of playing versus the risk of making the injury worse. According to FOX analyst Peter Schrager, the Cardinals are leaning towards McCoy getting the start on Monday but have not ruled Murray out.
The fact McCoy is healthy might make it less urgent that Murray returns after McCoy led the Cardinals to a 10-point win in Week 10 against the Rams. Meanwhile, the fact Murray is questionable means fantasy managers are in a tough spot.
Let’s examine the choices fantasy managers have this week and what they should consider doing with Murray.
Fantasy Outlook for Murray in Week 11
It’s really tough for fantasy managers when it comes to deciding what to do with Murray this week. The fact that McCoy is cleared and produced a solid performance last week means there is less of a need to force Murray onto the field. That could mean we see the Cardinals take the longer view with Murray and their season.
If possible, fantasy managers really need to be looking elsewhere this week. The problem is that if Murray is limited by the hamstring injury, it could limit his upside for his fantasy output. This season he has scored more than 25% of his fantasy points in the run game, which could be the most heavily impacted by his hamstring issue.
That could hurt both Murray’s floor and ceiling output for fantasy managers. With this uncertainty over his availability, it probably makes sense to sit Murray if you can in Week 11.
The key will be what other options you have. To see who else you might be able to turn to if you are uncertain about whether to start Murray, check out our Week 11 QB fantasy rankings.
The one place you might want to consider Murray this week is if you are doing late Underdog Fantasy Best Ball drafts. With the injury concern, Murray will be heavily discounted. Therefore, he could be a good value if he continues to recover and suits up this week.