Arizona Cardinals News & Rumors

As the Kyler Murray camp’s draft deadline for an extension approaches, the Cardinals continue to sit tight. The team has the Pro Bowl quarterback under contract through 2023, via the fifth-year option that will be exercised, and does not plan to let this saga devolve into an early divorce.

Steve Keim said Thursday a “zero percent” chance exists Murray will be traded, via Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com (on Twitter). This is fine by Murray, who soon added he wants to “win Super Bowls with the Cardinals” and indicated (via Twitter) he does not wish to be traded. While the situation could become contentious at some point, we do not appear to be there yet. Michael Bidwill soon tripled down here.

“Yeah, that’s not happening,” Bidwill said of a Murray trade (via the Arizona Republic’s Kent Somers, on Twitter). “There’s just too much outside noise that people listen to. We understand that’s just part of what goes on these days with social media. It’s just not the case.”

Murray’s camp has pushed for an extension ahead of the draft, after which other teams will make high-profile quarterback investments and close off potential trade routes. But Murray’s Thursday tweet downplays any interest the two-time Pro Bowler has of landing his eventual extension elsewhere. Keim added that quarterback extensions are often done after the draft (via Urban, on Twitter).

Recent extensions for quarterbacks seeking second contracts on normal trajectories — as opposed to Dak Prescott‘s re-up at the 2021 franchise tag deadline — have occurred after the draft. Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Deshaun Watson, Carson Wentz and Jared Goff signed their initial extensions in the summer. The Cardinals may well be planning to follow suit. The team is not certain to extend Murray this year, potentially viewing the season as a proving ground for a talented player whose performance has tailed off in each of his Pro Bowl campaigns. Wentz and Goff’s extensions backfiring on the Eagles and Rams, respectively, may well impact the Cardinals’ timetable. But Murray’s camp will surely attempt to force the issue before training camp.

A report last week indicated the Cardinals had yet to make an offer, and Murray may be realizing no extension will be finalized before the draft. He is staying away from Arizona’s offseason program for the time being, with NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport noting this has been the plan for a bit now (Twitter link). Murray would face fines if he stayed away from the team’s minicamp or training camp, but skipping mandatory activities would be his top leverage play, as it would significantly affect the team’s preparation. But other teams have also received the message the Cards have no interest in trading Murray, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler tweets.

Quarterback drama has persisted throughout the offseason’s early months, and one of the early contributors here is back in the mix. Kyler Murray is seeking a Cardinals extension before the draft, but two weeks ahead of the event, nothing is on the horizon.

The Cardinals have not made Murray an offer, according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero. The team still wants to keep Murray long-term, but the sides are not negotiating. This has understandably led other teams to monitor this situation, which ties into Murray’s camp wanting an extension by the draft (Twitter links). The 24-year-old standout became extension-eligible in January, and his side has ramped up the pressure on the Cardinals to hammer out a deal. Team Murray still views the draft as a deadline, Albert Breer of SI.com tweets.

Murray’s agent pulled his extension offer weeks ago, Pelissero adds. The market has undoubtedly changed, with Deshaun Watson signing a fully guaranteed $230MM deal with the Browns and Aaron Rodgers raising the per-year bar beyond $50MM. Murray has established himself as one of the league’s top young quarterbacks, though the two-time Pro Bowler has seen his play tail off after hot starts in each of the past two seasons.

A report of the Cardinals being annoyed by Murray started the drama in Arizona, and Murray had issues of his own with the organization. Murray soon scrubbed the Cards from his social media accounts, and his agent sent out a much-discussed statement regarding his client’s extension pursuit. This led to the start of a peacemaking effort, but it is clear the sides have work to do to complete that.

The former No. 1 overall pick is under contract for two more seasons, via the fifth-year option the Cardinals plan to pick up, but it has not been uncommon to see teams extend franchise quarterbacks after their third seasons. Watson, Russell Wilson and Patrick Mahomes received monster re-ups after their third years. Of course, the post-Year 3 deals the Rams and Eagles gave Jared Goff and Carson Wentz, respectively, might factor into the Cards’ decision-making here. Both extensions led to trades that saddled those teams with record-setting dead-money sums.

The draft plays a role here due to Murray’s camp believing more teams would be interested ahead of the event. Even though this year’s quarterback crop has not been highly praised, teams will undoubtedly make big investments at the position, thus narrowing potential Murray destinations and reducing his leverage. Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill called Murray’s extension process “complicated” and did not seem to be on the same page regarding a pre-draft extension. The team holds considerable leverage here anyway, but it will be interesting to see how Murray’s side operates in the coming days.