Tag: Kyler

Aug 26, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (right) walks onto the field at U.S. Bank Stadium before the game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Arizona Cardinals. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

Cards name Kyler Murray a captain: ‘He’s our franchise quarterback’

Posted on | by Field Level Media

For the fourth straight season, the Arizona Cardinals have named quarterback Kyler Murray one of their team captains.

Murray joins running back James Conner, left tackle D.J. Humphries, linebacker Kyzir White, safety Budda Baker and linebacker/special teamer Dennis Gardeck.

Coach Jonathan Gannon, entering his first season in Arizona, went with four players with previous experience as captains in Arizona — Murray, Humphries, Baker and Gardeck. His reasoning for Murray was simple.

“He’s our franchise quarterback,” Gannon said. “And everything that I want our captains to be, he demonstrates it.”

Murray, recovering from a torn ACL, will miss at least the first four games of the regular season after starting out on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. And speculation surfaced over the weekend that the Cardinals have financial incentive to keep Murray sidelined for all of 2022.

Reports said the Cardinals would owe Murray $37 million in 2024, $29 million in 2025 and $26 million in 2026 in injury guarantees if Murray cannot pass a physical before March 2024.

But Murray being named a captain, combined with Gannon’s comments, signals that Arizona will roll with the former No. 1 overall pick when he is healthy and ready to play.

The Cardinals will start either journeyman Josh Dobbs, acquired in late August from Cleveland, or fifth-round draft pick Clayton Tune at quarterback Week 1 against the Washington Commanders. That determination has not been made.

Arizona also signed veteran QB Jeff Driskel to the practice squad Monday. Driskel spent time at Cardinals training camp and was cut before the initial 53-man roster was finalized.

–Field Level Media

Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray warms up before an NFC wild-card game in January. Syndication Arizona Republic

Reports: Kyler Murray’s agent rescinds contract proposal

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Quarterback Kyler Murray’s quest for a new contract with the Arizona Cardinals has taken a turn, with NFL Network reporting Thursday that agent Erik Burkhardt has revoked his opening proposal.

The Cardinals have yet to make Murray an offer.

Thursday’s report speculated that it would be a “surprise” if Murray played next season under his current deal, which calls for him to be paid $5.5 million in 2022.

Sports Illustrated added that Murray’s camp sees the draft — which begins two weeks from Thursday — as a deadline for a new deal.

Drama began to boil over in February when Murray scrubbed all references to the team from his social media. He later spoke out in order to call reports of a fracturing relationship “nonsense” and said he only wanted to win championships.

But two weeks later, Burkhardt published an all-caps open letter to the Cardinals that clocked in longer than 1,000 words, detailing that Murray deserved a long-term contract after three NFL seasons.

According to Burkhardt, the offer he made “provides financial protection, is in line with the current QB market that compares his results alongside relevant comps, lowers his 2022-23 salary cap number to allow the Cardinals to re-sign other deserving teammates and add additional free agents and, most importantly, represents a real commitment from the organization to see if their ultimate goals align.”

That offer, though, is reportedly off the table. This offseason, four more quarterbacks — Aaron Rodgers, Matthew Stafford, Deshaun Watson and Derek Carr — signed extensions or new deals worth more than $40 million per year. Kirk Cousins, extended in Minnesota, is scheduled to average $35 million.

Murray is scheduled to make about $5.5 million in 2022, the fourth year of his rookie contract.

In 46 starts over three seasons, Murray has thrown for 11,480 yards, 70 touchdowns and 34 interceptions while completing 66.9 percent of his passes. He has added 1,786 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns on the ground, won Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2019 and was named to the last two Pro Bowls.

In his playoff debut the past season against the eventual champion Los Angeles Rams, Murray went 19-for-34 for 137 passing yards and two interceptions in a 34-11 loss. ESPN later reported that the Cardinals wanted Murray to improve as a leader, with anonymous sources describing him as self-centered and a finger-pointer.

–Field Level Media