Report: Cardinals aren’t expecting either Kyler Murray or DeAndre Hopkins to play

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray, who didn’t practice this week as he nurses an ankle injury, will try to play this afternoon against the 49ers, but there isn’t a ton of optimism. Murray hasn’t been ruled out, but Rapoport called him playing “an uphill battle.”

Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer confirmed that both Murray and DeAndre Hopkins traveled to the Bay Area with the team, but the Cardinals aren’t expecting either to play. As a result, Breer said, “the staff’s under the impression both will be out.”

Vegas knows. They always do.

In gambling, you follow the money. DraftKings SportsBook had the 49ers at 2.5-point underdogs last Sunday night. That number has swung in the direction of the 49ers, and San Francisco is now a 3.5-point favorite. I’ve seen them as four-point favorites at some books. That movement doesn’t happen if Murray, Hopkins, and A.J. Green are playing.

Now, Arizona will throw Colt McCoy under center, who took all of the first-team reps. The Cardinals' wide receivers after Hopkins and Green are Christian Kirk, Rondale Moore, Antoine Wesley, and Andy Isabella. Those receivers all can run and are players you want to get the ball in their hands right away but, generally, haven’t been winning in a traditional receiver sense.