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Arizona Cardinals News & Rumors

Latest On Cards' Issues With Kyler Murray

August 1st, 2022 at 4:01pm CST by Sam Robinson
  • Murray is no longer contractually obligated to complete a certain number of film-watching hours this season, but the Cards’ issues with their recently extended quarterback’s commitment have surfaced. His off-and-on offseason participation is something the team has certainly noticed, according to SI.com’s Albert Breer, who adds questions about the former No. 1 overall pick’s leadership have lingered as well. The Chris Mortensen Super Bowl Sunday report about acrimony between Murray and the Cardinals — one that labeled the 2018 Heisman winner as a “self-centered, immature finger-pointer” — drove Murray’s camp to demand an extension this offseason. As evidenced by the since-scrapped clause, the Cards do want their franchise QB to commit more to the mental side of the game, per Breer. How the team went about ensuring that will remain one of the more notable matters in modern contract history.

The Cardinals and Seahawks respectively announced Kyler Murray and Pete Carroll tested positive for COVID-19. While coronavirus protocols are absent to start training camp, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com notes the league in June informed teams anyone who tests positive must isolate for five days (Twitter link). Carroll, 70, is experiencing mild symptoms, according to the Seahawks, who add he will continue to participate in meetings virtually. As for Murray, he will not be required to be moved to the reserve/COVID-19 list. After two years of use, the NFL did away with the virus list this offseason. Murray will remain on the roster but away from the team.

Latest On DeAndre Hopkins’ PED Suspension

July 31st, 2022 at 4:53pm CST by Adam La Rose

In an offseason filled with headlines at the receiver position in particular, one newsworthy item of a different nature was the six-game suspension handed down to DeAndre Hopkins. The cause of the ban – a prohibited substance being found in his bloodstream – remains a talking point for multiple reasons. 

Hopkins was suspended for having Ostarine in his system. It was originally reported, however, he had also tested positive for a diuretic or masking agent. A statement from the NFLPA refutes that allegation, though. It reads in part: “Hopkins never tested positive for any diuretic or masking agent and there was absolutely no evidence of any attempt to substitute, dilute or adulterate any specimen or any attempt to manipulate a test” (Twitter link via Pro Football Network’s Aaron Wilson).

Hopkins – who at one point considered appealing his suspension in large part due to the fact that a fraction over 0.1% of the substance was found, and maintains that he is unsure how it entered his body – is using his situation as a means to speak out against the NFL’s PED policy writ large. “I’ve never taken any of that kind of stuff,” he said, via ArizonaSports’ Alex Weiner. “If you know about what it is, it can be in shampoo, it can be in a lot of different things. Obviously the NFL is very black and white, so of course, I wish the rule wasn’t so black and white. It is what it is.

“It’s hard to know what you can eat, what you can do when you’re not in control of manufacturing anything or what goes through a conveyor belt… So, obviously, I do think that rules should change. But like I said, that stuff, it’ll work itself out, and I’ve never taken anything. I barely take vitamins.”

The 30-year-old is also rehabbing from an MCL injury which cut his 2021 campaign short. He is expected to recover in time to take the field after his ban ends, but at least until then, his absence and the circumstances surrounding it are likely to remain contentious.

Joe Schobert, Takk McKinley Take Visits

July 31st, 2022 at 10:54am CST by Ely Allen

July 31: McKinley had a “positive visit” with the Cowboys but will not be signing with Dallas at this time, per Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News (via Twitter). The UCLA product always planned to take multiple visits, and he will now head off to a workout with the Cardinals. Arizona lost Chandler Jones to free agency this offseason, and while the club added two edge defenders in the third round of this year’s draft (Cameron Thomas and Myjai Sanders), having a more experienced option as part of the rotation may not be a bad idea.

July 30: Two of the top available defensive free agents reportedly took visits today. In two separate tweets ESPN’s Field Yates announced that linebacker Joe Schobert had visited the Broncos and defensive end Takkarist McKinley had tried out for the Cowboys. 

Schobert is an experienced linebacker who lined up as a middle linebacker during his tenures with the Browns and Jaguars then gained some experience as an outside linebacker with the Steelers last year. Since he became a full-time starter in his sophomore season, Schobert has been a tackling machine, never failing to amass at least 100 total tackles. During his second season in Cleveland, Schobert even led the league in tackles with 144. He’s shown an ability to get in the backfield over the years, totaling 23.0 tackles for loss, 26 quarterback hits, and 11.0 sacks, and has a propensity for forcing turnovers with 10 interceptions, 30 passes defensed, and 10 forced fumbles over his six-year career.

Denver has been shuffling around it’s linebackers this offseason including moving Baron Browning, who started inside for the Broncos last year, to outside linebacker. It vastly increased the outside linebacker depth behind star Bradley Chubb with the additions of free agent Randy Gregory and rookie second-round pick Nik Bonitto adding to the depth of Browning and Malik Reed, who were already there. Those moves resulted in a bit of a vacuum behind starting inside linebackers Alex Singleton and Josey Jewell. Schobert would be an excellent addition to the inside linebacker depth in Denver, while having the versatility to contribute on the outside if needed, as well.

McKinley is much more of a pass rusher than Schobert, collecting 20.0 sacks, 25.0 tackles for loss, and 53 quarterback hits during a four-year tenure in Atlanta and a year in Cleveland. What’s limited McKinley is that he doesn’t offer much more on defense. He can impose his presence at the line of scrimmage and influence plays, but he doesn’t tend to get to the ball-carrier often, owning a career-high of only 29 total tackles in a season. He’s also shown less of an impact as of late. After recording 13.0 sacks in his first two seasons, McKinley has only tallied 7.0 in the three years since.

McKinley is a former-first round pick of Cowboys defensive coordinator (and former Atlanta head coach) Dan Quinn. The familiarity with Quinn’s system, in which he’s shown the most productivity, could help him land a roster spot. Besides his previous relationship with Quinn, McKinley faces an uphill battle to make the roster as the Cowboys are already fairly stacked at defensive end. Dallas brought in Dante Fowler to start opposite DeMarcus Lawrence and drafted Ole Miss single-season sack record-holder Sam Williams in the second round. McKinley could potentially attempt to provide an improvement above backups Tarell Basham, Dorance Armstrong, and Chauncey Golston, but those three were all with the team last year and will have to be unseated.

Word will likely arrive in the coming days determining if either Schobert or McKinley will get an opportunity with a new team. If not, the two veterans will remain top names to keep track of on the defensive free agent market.

Cardinals Add Defensive Line Depth For Camp

July 29th, 2022 at 8:00pm CST by Ely Allen

Arizona brought in some veteran bodies on the defensive line for camp this preseason. The team made the announcement on their website that they have signed Antwaun Woods and Christian Ringo. 

The Cardinals felt the need to bring in some experienced players at the position due to the high rotation-rate and youth at the position. With J.J. Watt likely to see little playing time in the preseason going into his 12th NFL season, Arizona’s defensive line is riddled with young players like Rashard Lawrence (23), Zach Allen (24), Cameron Thomas (22), Leki Fotu (23), Kingsley Keke (25), Michael Dogbe (26), and Jonathan Ledbetter (24). Woods (29) and Ringo (30) can add some of the experience and leadership that is missing with Watt (33) on the sideline.

Woods came into the league as an undrafted free agent with the Titans. After only making one appearance in two years in Tennessee, Woods was released with an injury settlement before signing a two-year contract with Dallas. Woods immediately became a starter in the Cowboys defense as a 1-technique defensive tackle. Woods would start 32 games for the Cowboys over the next three years, losing some playing time to injuries and some starts in the third year to free agent addition Dontari Poe. When the Cowboys drafted three defensive lineman in the 2021 NFL Draft, Woods was waived. Woods signed with the Colts for last year but spent most of the season on the practice squad or injured.

Ringo doesn’t nearly have the starting experience Woods does, but has lots of experience learning new systems. Since being drafted by the Packers in 2015, Ringo has spent time with the Bengals, Lions, Cowboys, and Saints, not to mention a short stint in the CFL with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers before the season was canceled due to COVID-19. This is technically a reunion, as Ringo’s month-and-a-half stint with the Cowboys overlapped with Woods’ tenure in Dallas. Up until last year, Ringo’s career had been that of a rotational reserve, but, after signing with the Saints for the 2021 season, Ringo earned his first four starts and appeared in a career-high 14 games.

Both players are 300+ lb. interior lineman who will take some preseason snaps off of the shoulders of players that Arizona would like to keep fresh going into the regular season. If they show flashes of their most productive NFL stretches, they could find their way onto the final 53-man roster and contribute to the Cardinals’ 2022 season.

In order to make room for Woods and Ringo on the roster, Arizona released tight end David Wells and defensive end Matt Dickerson. Wells had appeared in three games (one start) last year for the Cardinals and Dickerson hasn’t played since he was with the Titans in the 2020 season.

Kyler Murray Addresses Independent Study Contract Clause

July 28th, 2022 at 11:00pm CST by Sam Robinson

8:15pm: And like that, the clause is no more. Rapoport tweets that the Cardinals have removed the “independent study” clause in Murray’s contract.

“After seeing the distraction it created, we removed the addendum from the contract,” the Cardinals said in a statement (via ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Twitter). “It was clearly perceived in ways that were never intended. Our confidence in Kyler Murray is as high as it’s ever been and nothing demonstrates our belief in his ability to lead this team more than the commitment reflected in this contract.”

1:25pm: In making Kyler Murray the NFL’s second-highest-paid quarterback, the Cardinals included an independent study clause in his contract. The strange inclusion mandates the fourth-year passer watch at least four hours of film on his own per week during the season, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter).

Understandably, this unusual mandate has generated more attention than the five-year, $230.5MM deal itself. Addressing this matter Thursday, Murray said questions about his film-study habits are “disrespectful” and “almost a joke,” via CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones (all Twitter links).

“There’s multiple different ways to watch film. Of course we all watch film. That doesn’t need to be questioned,” Murray said, before declining to answer questions related to the film clause. “I refuse to let my work ethic and my preparation be in question. I’ve put in an incomprehensible amount of time in what I do, whether it’s football or baseball.”

Murray himself has admitted in the past he is unlikely to be a top-tier film studier among quarterbacks, making comments to the New York Times about his habits. Given his importance to the franchise, this December 2021 stance may well have been a factor for the Cardinals during their offseason negotiations.

“I think I was blessed with the cognitive skills to just go out there and just see it before it happens,” Murray said, via NYT’s Ben Shpigel, last year. “I’m not one of those guys that’s going to sit there and kill myself watching film. I don’t sit there for 24 hours and break down this team and that team and watch every game because, in my head, I see so much.”

The two-time Pro Bowler declined to say if he was mad about this film-study component of his contract, but the Cardinals going so far as to include it their highest-profile extension reveals at least some level of hesitancy about the dual-threat passer’s commitment. This is not the first piece of atypical language in a Murray contract. His rookie deal protected the Cardinals against a return to baseball, a sport he was ticketed to play — as a top-10 Oakland Athletics draftee — before his 2018 Heisman-winning season changed his career course. That transition has now led to Murray securing a monster extension — one featuring $104.3MM guaranteed at signing.

It is certainly interesting that, despite the reports of the acrimony between the fourth-year QB and the Cardinals dying down, Murray has needed to address this matter after the team made this financial commitment. Generally, talk of discontent between player and team recedes in the wake of big-ticket extension agreements. But it is clear Murray, who has followed up fast starts with suboptimal end-of-season stretches in each of his Pro Bowl years, will struggle to distance himself from this story. The Cardinals, who have never authorized a contract remotely close to this neighborhood, stand to be regularly tied to this language as well.

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/28/22

July 28th, 2022 at 5:31pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor NFL transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

New England Patriots

New York Giants

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/27/22

July 27th, 2022 at 5:45pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor NFL transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Miami Dolphins

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

  • Signed: OL Keenan Forbes, G Eric Wilson

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/26/22

July 26th, 2022 at 7:56pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor NFL transactions, including a handful of notable names landing on the physically unable to perform list and the non-football injury list as teams open up camp:

Arizona Cardinals

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

  • Released with NFI designation: WR Cody Core

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Commanders

USFL DPOY Chris Odom Auditions For Bengals, Cardinals, Saints

July 26th, 2022 at 3:13pm CST by Ben Levine

JULY 26: Odom’s workout itinerary surfaced Tuesday. The USFL Defensive Player of the Year auditioned for the Bengals, Cardinals and Saints, Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com tweets. Odom first trekked to Arizona and Cincinnati but headed to New Orleans today. It certainly looks like he will have options to tack an NFL season onto his spring-summer USFL work. He would be following a few others once he latches on with a team.

JULY 9: Chris Odom put himself back on the NFL map with a strong performance in the USFL. The edge rusher’s agent announced that Odom has three upcoming workouts with NFL teams (h/t to Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.com). The agent didn’t reveal the three squads, but he said the “calls are starting to come in fast” for his client.

The son of longtime Colts linebacker Cliff Odom, Chris Odom went undrafted out of Arkansas State in 2017. He bounced around the NFL a bit, spending time with the Falcons (two stints), Packers, and Washington. He’s ultimately saw time in 11 NFL games, collecting 16 tackles, two sacks, and one forced fumble. He also spent time in the AAF and the CFL before landing his most recent gig is the United States Football League.

Back in February, Odom was selected in the second round of the USFL draft. He proceeded to have a standout season with the Houston Gamblers, earning league Defensive Player of the Years honors after compiling 41 tackles, 12.5 sacks, six forced fumbles, and four blocked field goals. That performance has apparently put him back on the NFL radar, but during a conversation with Yahoo’s Chris Estrada, Odom was still focused on his USFL squad. While he acknowledged that “whatever opportunity presents itself [after the USFL season], then so be it,” he reiterated how important it was to him that the USFL gave him the opportunity to showcase his skills.

“I have teammates that haven’t played football in a year, two years, three years, some even four years – whether it wasn’t the right opportunity, injury, COVID,” Odom said. “We all just were happy to be able to play football again. So we all just wanted to show everybody what we were capable of.”

We recently saw one USFL player take his talents back to the NFL when linebacker Christian Sam signed with the Cowboys.

Details On Kyler Murray’s New Contract Extension

July 23rd, 2022 at 3:29pm CST by Ely Allen

The Cardinals made headlines Thursday with the announcement that they finally came to terms with quarterback Kyler Murray on a five-year, $230.5MM extension with a total guaranteed amount of $160MM. Now, thanks to Mike Florio of NBC Sports, we have a bit more information on the details within the contract. 

Murray was guaranteed $104.3MM at signing composed of a $29.04MM signing bonus, the 2022 base salary of $965,000, the 2023 base salary of $2MM, the 2023 workout bonus of $1MM, the 2023 option bonus of $36MM, and $35.3MM of the 2024 base salary worth $37MM total. The rest of the $160MM guaranteed amount is guaranteed for injury at signing and is fully guaranteed at certain dates. In March of 2024, the 2025 base salary of $18MM fully guarantees. Murray also has a 2025 90-man offseason roster bonus of $11.9MM guaranteed for injury at signing that fully guarantees in March of 2024. $26.8MM of the 2026 compensation in guaranteed for injury at signing. In March of 2025, the 2026 compensation fully guarantees in the amount of $36.8MM. Finally, in March of 2026, the 2027 base salary of $19.5MM fully guarantees.

There are a number of roster and workout bonuses laden throughout the duration of the deal. In addition to the guaranteed $1M 2023 workout bonus, Murray is due workout bonuses of $1M in 2024, $1.86MM in 2025, $1.86MM in 2026, $1.8MM in 2027, and $1.8MM in 2028. In addition to the guaranteed $11.9MM 90-man offseason roster bonus in 2025, Murray will earn 90-man offseason roster bonuses of $17MM in 2026, $14.19MM in 2027, and $7.7MM in 2028. In 2028, Murray will also be due a $2MM training camp bonus. Not only will Murray earn the annual offseason roster bonuses, the contract is also set up for Murray to earn a per game active roster bonus of $50,000 from the 2024 season through the 2028 season for a potential of $850,000 in each of those five seasons.

From the 2024 season through the 2028 season, Murray can earn two different incentive bonuses worth $750,000 apiece in each season. The first salary escalator activates if Murray records 600 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns in a season. The second salary escalator is based on 70% playing time in the regular season, 70% playing time in the NFC Championship game, and an NFC Championship game victory.

Murray’s total contract value of $230.5MM ranks third for NFL quarterbacks behind Josh Allen (six-year, $258.03MM) and Patrick Mahomes (ten-year, $450MM). Both the amount guaranteed at signing and the total guaranteed amount rank second among NFL quarterbacks behind Deshaun Watson‘s fully-guaranteed five-year, $230MM contract. The average annual value of Murray’s contract is $46.1MM, which also ranks second for NFL quarterbacks behind Aaron Rodgers who recently signed a deal worth $50.27MM per year.

The 24-year-old Murray has started 46 games since being drafted No. 1 overall in 2019, only missing three games last season with an ankle injury while amassing a record of 22-23-1. Murray has improved his standing as a top NFL quarterback each year in the league. After ending the 2019 season ranked as the 19th-best quarterback (according to Pro Football Focus), Murray ranked as the 11th-best quarterback in 2020 and the 9th-best quarterback this past season.

In 2022, with contract decisions now behind him, Murray will focus on furthering the team’s improvement. After improving the Cardinals’ win total from five to eight games in his first two seasons, Murray quarterbacked nine wins in 2021 en route to the team’s 11-6 record, leading Arizona to it’s first playoff appearance since 2015. Unfortunately, Murray and the Cardinals lost their first playoff game in six years and will now strive for postseason success in 2022.

The Cardinals’ offense returns many of its weapons from last year. The team only had to replace two main contributors, subbing out Chase Edmonds for Darrel Williams and losing leading receiver from last season Christian Kirk but replacing him with Baltimore’s leading wide receiver in 2021, Marquise Brown. Arizona faces the difficult challenge of a division that includes the Seahawks, 49ers, and reigning Super Bowl champion Rams, but, with no further financial distractions under center, the Cardinals are set up to continue their annual improvement.

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