Cardinals Designate WR Marquise Brown For Return

The Cardinals should soon have a key member of their receiving corps back in the fold. Marquise Brown has been designated for return from IR, per a team announcement.

The move opens up Brown’s 21-day window to be activated. If he is not brought back onto the active roster within that timeframe, he will be ineligible to return for the remainder of the season. Fortunately, that seems highly unlikely to take place; head coach Kliff Kingsbury left open the possibility of Brown suiting up for Arizona’s upcoming Monday night game against San Francisco.

The 25-year-old suffered a foot injury one month ago. It was initially feared that it could have sidelined him for the remainder of the season, but further testing and consultation led to a much more positive prognosis of a four-to-six week recovery timeline. Returning in time for Week 11 would mark the short end of that scale, but it could provide a much-needed boost to the Cardinals’ passing attack.

Arizona began the year without DeAndre Hopkins due to his six-game PED suspension. By the time the three-time All-Pro was back on the field, though, Brown had went down with the injury. The Cardinals acquired Robbie Anderson from the Panthers around the time the latter was placed on IR, as they gave the disgruntled wideout a new home while attempting to replace Brown’s vertical speed.

Playing on the final year of his rookie contract, Brown began his first season in the desert with expectations to take on a No. 1 role in Hopkins’ absence. His arrival also came, of course, after his offseason trade request led to a draft-day trade which saw the Ravens ship him out for a first-round pick. He racked up 485 yards and three touchdowns on 43 catches upon being reunited with former college teammate Kyler Murray. The Oklahoma alum is in line to play on the fifth-year option next season.

With a number of high-end pass-catchers unavailable throughout the year, Arizona has fallen short of expectations through the air, ranking 16th in the league in passing yards per game. Pairing Hopkins and Brown will be especially critical moving forward, given that tight end Zach Ertz is out for the season with a knee injury. At 4-6 and in fourth in the NFC West, the Cardinals will hope Brown’s return will spur a late-season run.

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