Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals appear no closer to a new contract now than they have been at any point in the offseason.
Tensions have been running high between both sides for months now.
Murray’s expectations seem clear: he wants to be a top-five paid quarterback in the NFL right now. Arizona doesn’t want to commit until it is totally necessary. Those are the broad strokes of everyone’s positions.
But what do they want specifically?
According to ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler, league executives think Murray wants as much or more than Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr just got.
“The expectation leaguewide is Murray won’t be too eager to play this season without a new deal,” he wrote.
“Many NFL execs consider Murray in the same QB pantheon as the Raiders’ Derek Carr, who recently got a $121.4 million extension over three years. Perhaps Murray can get slightly more per year due to age (24 to Carr’s 31) and a higher ceiling.”
If a resolution cannot be reached, a trade is definitely possible here. There are currently three teams that are extremely well-positioned for a swap involving Murray. Time will tell if anything will materialize on that front, though.
This is a messy situation all the way around.
Murray and the Cardinals are coming off something of a topsy-turvy campaign in 2021-22. They started the season an impressive 7-0, only to then come crashing back down to earth. They ended up finishing the year 4-6 and subsequently got blown out by the Los Angeles Rams in the playoffs.
How much blame for that belongs with Murray as opposed to his head coach, who can’t stop running around with Instagram models? Folks can make their own calls on that
Pat Bev and his girl were feeling good after all that Chris Paul slander.https://t.co/HYMrlQjcKR
— Game 7 (@game7__) May 18, 2022
In any case, though – something needs to happen here. Either one of the two sides involved needs to give in and get a deal done, or a trade needs to occur.
As presently constituted, things are not sustainable.
How will this entire standoff ultimately end?
Time will tell.
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A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.
