Ray Nagel

Ray Nagel’s Cardinals stint was a blink—four games, 192 yards, zero TDs, passer rating scraping 5.32—while Kyler Murray’s already got 15,000+ yards and franchise flair, dodging sacks like a Ferrari on I-10. Nagel’s a dusty footnote; Kyler’s scripting the next chapter in Birdgang lore, one no-look pass at a time.

Nope, Ray Nagel’s not in Canton—his pro ledger’s too thin, just those four forgettable games with the Cardinals in ’53. Hall’s for immortals like Larry Wilson from his Utah days, not a guy who threw five picks without a score. Still, Nagel coached up a storm later; football owed him that much.

In 2026, Ray Nagel’s long gone—passed in the ’80s after grinding as a coach and AD at places like Utah and Iowa. No broadcasting gigs or charity ribbons; his era’s echo is those Liberty Bowl Utes and Hawkeye shootouts. Guy built programs, didn’t chase spotlights.

Nagel’s drop-back style from the pistol-grip ’50s would get lit up today—48% completions, 3.1 yards per try, no TDs in a pass-happy league with 12-man fronts and RPOs. Modern rules might juice his numbers a tick, but he’d be third-string behind Kyler and a UDFA, eating blitzes whole.

Both Cardinals QBs, but Nagel’s 5.32 rating over four games is a flea flicker next to Jim Hart’s 34.49 across 168 starts—Hart slung 24,000 yards, Pro Bowls, the works. Nagel was a spot starter in the mud-for-yards era; Hart owned the pocket like a boss in Cardinals’ lean years.