Many people are counting out the Arizona Cardinals after they finished with a 4-13 record during a frustrating 2022 season.
They have a new head coach in Jonathan Gannon, the former defensive coordinator of the defending NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles, but their quarterback, Kyler Murray, is recovering from a torn ACL he suffered late last season.
Murray’s status for the 2023 campaign is in question, and should he return this fail, he will be without one of his main targets, as the team recently released wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.
That leaves fellow wideout Marquise Brown as Arizona’s main weapon and the man they need to step up.
But he’s using the challenge of being the team’s WR1 as motivation for this coming season.
Cardinals WR Marquise Brown aims “to prove that I can be the guy” in 2023https://t.co/VNV1ThuDuS pic.twitter.com/EAFSZg8fps
— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) June 13, 2023
“I want to prove that I can be the guy,” Brown said on Wednesday. “I want to prove that as an offense, as a team that we can be that team that we know we can be. I feel like everybody feels that way from coaches to the players.”
Brown, who was the No. 25 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, developed into a reliable threat for the Baltimore Ravens.
As a rookie, he put up 584 yards and seven touchdowns while helping quarterback Lamar Jackson connect on a league-high 36 touchdown passes and win the regular season MVP award.
In 2021, Brown had 1,008 yards and six touchdowns.
The Cardinals have little, if any, hope of reaching the playoffs this winter, but if they will, Brown will have to take things to a level he has never played at before.
That would likely mean achieving a Pro Bowl berth and going well over 1,000 receiving yards.
The saving grace for the Cardinals could be the overall lack of depth throughout the NFC.
If Murray is able to return sooner than later and they improve what was one of the league’s worst defenses, perhaps they will surprise some people.
NEXT:
Cardinals GM Gives Latest Update On Budda Baker’s Trade Request
