The 2019 first-overall pick is reportedly at odds with his franchise after the last of his obligations for this season came to a close. Kyler Murray read straight from the modern-day playbook to convey his frustrations.
He deleted all mentions of the Arizona Cardinals from his personal Instagram account.
Apparently, a 5’10” quarterback being selected by a head coach straight out of college himself might not be the best way to turn around a franchise desperately in need of one. The Cardinals drafted Josh Rosen tenth overall the year prior, then shipped him to Miami. The Dolphins then cut Rosen after the 2020 season, in favor of drafting Tua Tagovailoa fifth overall in the following draft.
The Cardinals were the last team to lose a game, starting 7-0, before eventually finishing 11-6. Eventually the Cardinals finished second in the NFC West, a game behind the Los Angeles Rams.
Those same Rams went onto win Super Bowl 56 at Sofi Stadium, their home barn.
Murray, 24, is only slated to make $11.1 million in 2022, which is the final year of his four-year rookie contract. The Cardinals have the fifth-year option, as is about normal with most rookie quarterbacks taken in the first two rounds in recent memory. Josh Allen already got his extension in Buffalo, while Baker Mayfield is still heavily rumored to get his in Cleveland, despite playing all but the season opener in 2021 hurt. Lamar Jackson is a former league MVP in Baltimore, but still does not have his second contract signed as of yet.
Sources told ESPN earlier this week that Murray is “self-centered, immature and someone who points fingers.” Odell Beckham Jr. and his father had issues in the media with Mayfield, then negotiated his own exit out of Cleveland, only to head to Los Angeles and win a World Championship this past weekend.
Beckham quit on his team, not Mayfield. Now Baker did not do Cleveland any favors by playing practically the entire season with one arm, but he handled the entire ordeal with the style you would expect from a leader.
Murray by all accounts could not be further away than his first overall counterpart from a year before. Arizona head coach Kliff Kingsbury is looking to add pieces to aid Murray’s development. When you have A.J. Green and DeAndre Hopkins as your top receivers, perhaps the answers lie within Murray instead of the confines of the Cardinal salary cap. We can also add three-time Pro Bowl tight end Zach Ertz into that receiving core.
This is certainly not helping Murray’s case.
Murray posted to Instagram, after deleting all but two posts, that he “(plays) this game for the love of it, my teammates, everyone who has helped me get to this position that believed in me (and) to win championships.” Not once did he mention the Cardinal franchise or any specific current member of the roster.
Some might make the argument that the reports of Murray’s nature coming from the organization might not hold as much clout as if they were coming from a teammate. Beckham was loved by his teammates in Cleveland, but failed to conduct himself to the organization as nothing more than a diva who quit on the franchise.
The Arizona front office is not supposed to be playing babysitter or mediator. Murray was drafted to bring the Cardinals back amongst the elite in the NFC, but the current state of affairs is nothing that either side expected after their first playoff appearance in six years.
To throw more gasoline on the flames, the Cardinals have neither the salary cap room ($2.74 million) or draft capital (selecting 23rd in the first round this April) to get Murray the solutions he allegedly needs.
-JC24
Those same Rams went onto win Super Bowl 56 at Sofi Stadium, their home barn.
Murray, 24, is only slated to make $11.1 million in 2022, which is the final year of his four-year rookie contract. The Cardinals have the fifth-year option, as is about normal with most rookie quarterbacks taken in the first two rounds in recent memory. Josh Allen already got his extension in Buffalo, while Baker Mayfield is still heavily rumored to get his in Cleveland, despite playing all but the season opener in 2021 hurt. Lamar Jackson is a former league MVP in Baltimore, but still does not have his second contract signed as of yet.
Sources told ESPN earlier this week that Murray is “self-centered, immature and someone who points fingers.” Odell Beckham Jr. and his father had issues in the media with Mayfield, then negotiated his own exit out of Cleveland, only to head to Los Angeles and win a World Championship this past weekend.
Beckham quit on his team, not Mayfield. Now Baker did not do Cleveland any favors by playing practically the entire season with one arm, but he handled the entire ordeal with the style you would expect from a leader.
Murray by all accounts could not be further away than his first overall counterpart from a year before. Arizona head coach Kliff Kingsbury is looking to add pieces to aid Murray’s development. When you have A.J. Green and DeAndre Hopkins as your top receivers, perhaps the answers lie within Murray instead of the confines of the Cardinal salary cap. We can also add three-time Pro Bowl tight end Zach Ertz into that receiving core.
This is certainly not helping Murray’s case.
Murray posted to Instagram, after deleting all but two posts, that he “(plays) this game for the love of it, my teammates, everyone who has helped me get to this position that believed in me (and) to win championships.” Not once did he mention the Cardinal franchise or any specific current member of the roster.
Some might make the argument that the reports of Murray’s nature coming from the organization might not hold as much clout as if they were coming from a teammate. Beckham was loved by his teammates in Cleveland, but failed to conduct himself to the organization as nothing more than a diva who quit on the franchise.
The Arizona front office is not supposed to be playing babysitter or mediator. Murray was drafted to bring the Cardinals back amongst the elite in the NFC, but the current state of affairs is nothing that either side expected after their first playoff appearance in six years.
To throw more gasoline on the flames, the Cardinals have neither the salary cap room ($2.74 million) or draft capital (selecting 23rd in the first round this April) to get Murray the solutions he allegedly needs.
-JC24