Kyler Murray Won't Need Surgery on Ankle Injury, Per Cardinals' Kliff Kingsbury

The Arizona Cardinals don't believe Kyler Murray will need to undergo offseason surgery on his ankle.

One day after their 18-7 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, head coach Kliff Kingsbury told reporters that the quarterback's ankle is sore but shouldn't be injured enough to warrant a procedure.

The Cardinals needed a win over the Rams in order to clinch a wild-card berth in the NFC, so Murray's injury couldn't have come at a much worse time for the team.

Chris Streveler briefly had to come in at quarterback against Los Angeles, and Murray was clearly lacking his signature explosiveness. The 2020 Pro Bowler went 8-of-11 for 87 yards while running for three yards on two carries.

All things considered, an 8-8 finish and narrowly missing out on the playoffs wasn't the worst-case scenario for Arizona, though it was a disappointing outcome given the team's 5-2 start.

If nothing else, Murray showed why Kingsbury cast aside Josh Rosen in order to build his offense around the 2018 Heisman Trophy winner. He threw for 3,971 yards and 26 touchdowns along with running for 819 yards and 11 scores.

It will be important Murray continues to improve in 2021 because ESPN's Josh Weinfuss made the case for Kingsbury being on the hot seat in his third season in charge. Failing to qualify for the postseason again might be enough to send the head coach packing this time next year.