Cardinals QB Kyler Murray will be a game time decision

The high flying Cardinals will be hoping their quarterback can be in the lineup on Sunday

The Cardinals sweat on QB Kyler Murray

Now in his 6th week of absence, Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray is fighting to recover from a high left ankle sprain. According to head coach Kliff Kingsbury on Friday the quarterback's status for Sunday's game against the Chicago Bears will be a game-time decision. According to Kingsbury, Murray "has done better this week." The coach also added that he is hopeful that Murray will "be ready to roll," on Sunday.

Week 8 was the last time Murray played, when he sprained his ankle in the dying moments of the Cardinals' loss to the Green Bay Packers. That being said it is clear that the Cardinals have no intention of rushing the brush with Murray. "There's obviously some cat-and-mouse in this sport, but I mean, with a player like him, the position we're in, we were going to be overly cautious this entire time," Kingsbury said. "And we still are and so we want to make sure when we get him back, he's playing at a high level, and he can't re-injure it to a point that we lose him for a substantial amount of time."

What lies ahead for the Cardinals

At the moment Arizona are the team to beat in the league. The Cardinals go into Week 13 with a 9-2 record, the best in the NFL. They are the No. 1 seed in the NFC and first place in the NFC West. Kingsbury also alluded to Arizona's disastrous end to last season being a factor in the cautious handling of Murray. The Cardinals went 3-6 after starting 5-2, largely due to a series of injuries suffered by Murray. "I just think we want to finish the right way this season and we didn't last year," Kingsbury said. "So, we're just trying to be smart about it."

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There is also injured DeAndre Hopkins

While the Cardinals hope for Murray's recovery, they will also be concerned about wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins. Hopkins has also been sidelined, indeed he has been absent for five weeks with a hamstring injury. Both players will be analyzed before Sunday's game at Soldier Field. At that point a final decision on whether or not they can participate will be made. Hopkins didn't feature in the open field portion of Friday's practice. That, after being limited on Wednesday and Thursday. "We're just being smart," Kingsbury said. "We want to make sure he feels really good for the stretch run, and so we'll see how he progresses, run him on Sunday and see if he can go."

Hopkins for his part was positive about his progress. "Rest is key," he said. Before his injury the wide receiver had only missed two games in his entire career. He was, however, unconcerned about rustiness and added that he had no fears about how his hamstring would respond. "I know what I can do out there when I'm healthy," he said. "So, go out there and do my best to help this team win."