Michael Bidwill

Latest On Kyler Murray’s Contract Status

February 28th, 2022 at 9:56am CST by Adam La Rose

After drama started to build around the Cardinals and quarterback Kyler Murray, the team seemed to make it clear they plan on extending him. Today, his agent made a strong statement putting pressure on the team to make that new deal their top priority (Twitter link via ESPN’s Adam Schefter).

“Kyler wants to be direct with loyal Arizona Cardinals fans and the great community of the Valley in stating his two very important goals and objectives”, it begins, listing those two goals as remaining the Cardinals’ QB long-term, and winning a Super Bowl with the team. It stresses that “achieving both goals will take incredible commitment from himself and the entire organization”.

It further states that Murray’s camp has sent “a detailed contract proposal to the organization” which “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”.

The move publicly puts the ball in the organization’s court, stating that “actions speak much louder than words in this volatile business”, a reference to owner Michael Bidwill recently saying the team has had “good conversations” with the 24-year-old and is eyeing the summer as a time to hammer out a new deal. However, the statement reads, “words and hypothetical contractual promises are regularly dismissed“, further pushing for a new pact to be offered as soon as possible.

The statement concludes that Murray “remains hopeful that the organization chooses to commit“, something they can do as early as the new league year in mid-March. As Bidwill noted in his recent comments, however, recent mega-deals with emerging QBs like Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen were both signed in the summer, after free agency and the draft had passed. Whether the club opts to stick to that kind of timeline – or, alternatively, let him play out the fourth and potentially fifth years of his rookie deal, not unlike the Ravens and Lamar Jackson – will be even more of a key offseason storyline after this.

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero notes that Murray is due roughly 5.5MM this season (video link). He states, however, that he doesn’t expect Murray to play at that figure in 2022. Overall, then, this situation is set to remain one of the most important in the upcoming QB market.

Cardinals Owner Michael Bidwill On HC Kliff Kingsbury

February 27th, 2022 at 11:04am CST by Rory Parks

Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill touched on a number of key topics during a Friday radio interview, including rumors of acrimony between the team and QB Kyler Murray. In addition to his affirmation that Murray remains in the Cards’ long-term plans and that he has had “good conversations non-stop” with his star signal-caller, Bidwill also discussed head coach Kliff Kingsbury‘s future in the desert.

“I look at the college coaches who have made the transition from college to the pros and the ones that are successful, and Kliff is [successful],” Bidwill said (via Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network). Throughout the interview, Bidwill reiterated that Kingsbury has a “bright future” and gave no indication that he is on a short leash.

Wilson, though, says that the 42-year-old HC is on “something of a hot seat” heading into 2022. If true, that would be due to Arizona’s late-season swoon that culminated in an ugly wildcard round loss to the eventual-Super Bowl champion Rams.

Indeed, we heard in early December that an extension for Kingsbury was one of the Cardinals’ top offseason priorities, but that report surfaced at a time when Arizona was sitting at 9-2. The team would go on to lose five of its final seven games, including the playoff defeat, which added to the narrative that Kingsbury is unable to make necessary in-season adjustments. As Wilson notes, Kingsbury’s teams at both the collegiate and professional levels have a 42-20-1 record in the first seven games of a season but are just 17-45 from the eighth game forward.

Bidwill ascribed the Cardinals’ stumbles down the stretch of the 2021 campaign primarily to the injuries sustained by Murray and top wideout DeAndre Hopkins. “I think [the struggles are] a combination of things, certainly (Hopkins’) impact on the field and off the field is huge,” Bidwill said. “And losing him from not only a football Xs and Os standpoint, but also from an emotional standpoint was big.”

He added, “Kyler got injured for three games. He certainly, before the injury, was playing at the top of his game, and then he came back. I think having a healthy Kyler Murray is always better than Kyler coming off of an injury. This team has a bright future and I’m excited about it, especially knowing those guys are coming back 100 percent.”

Kingsbury’s contract expires at the end of the 2022 season, though Arizona holds a team option for 2023. It remains to be seen if the Cardinals will explore an extension in the coming months, or if they wait to see if Kingsbury can overcome his reputation as a fast starter but slow finisher (as well as the concerns that have been expressed about his play-calling acumen).

At least publicly, Bidwill is confident in his HC’s abilities. “I feel like (Kingsbury’s) had an adjustment period. Had a few years to adjust and I feel like he’s going to get better and better because I feel like he understands the pro rules and the pro game and the pro speed and everything else much better than he did a couple of years ago,” Bidwill said. “[W]e’ve got a bright future together. Kliff, Kyler, [general manager] Steve [Keim], all of us have to make great contributions as we go forward. I know they have a great relationship.”

Cards’ Owner Bidwill On Kyler Murray

February 26th, 2022 at 8:32pm CST by Ely Allen

With everything starting to appear copacetic between the Cardinals and quarterback Kyler Murray, the team’s owner, Michael Bidwill, addressed the 24-year-old’s future in Arizona, as reported by Jeremy Cluff of The Arizona Republic. As Murray heads into the fourth year of his rookie contract, Bidwill discussed the possibility for an extension.

“The window has just opened for a contract extension. Certainly he’s part of our long-term plan,” Bidwill said of Murray. “Most of the big ones are done further down the road, I think Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen were done in the summer time. Others were done in the summer time. So we’ve got time, but they’re complicated.”

In respect to the turmoil surrounding the quarterback, Bidwill claimed he and Murray have had “good conversations non-stop.”

While expressing the desire to give Murray an extension out of his rookie contract, Bidwill also acknowledged that the team has other priorities, as well, namely bringing back some key free agents. He recently expressed his wishes to retain two-time All-Pro linebacker Chandler Jones, which Jones appeared scoff at. Newcomers to the desert, running back James Conner and tight end Zach Ertz, have both made it known that they would be more than happy to consider re-signing.

Other Cardinals headed to free agency include running back Chase Edmonds, wide receiver Christian Kirk, veteran wideout A.J. Green, and tight end Maxx Williams. While the Cardinals’ owner is looking forward to finding a way to keep Murray long-term, he and his front office have some work to do in the meantime.

COVID-19 Latest: JUCO, SEC, Bidwill, Strike

July 13th, 2020 at 6:29pm CST by Sam Robinson

While the JUCO circuit resides several levels away from the NFL, the National Junior College Athletic Association announced a major move Monday. The junior college football season will now take place in the spring, the NJCAA announced. While the Ivy League was the first to postpone its football season, it did not say spring football was a go. The Big Ten and Pac-12 have opted to play conference-only schedules amid the pandemic, but the latter has discussed a move to the spring. Junior colleges playing in the spring will not directly affect the NFL, but it marks the latest big step a football organization has taken amid the COVID-19 pandemic. As of Monday, the NFL has made no changes to its training camp plan. Most teams are set to open camp to all players July 28, but given the uncertainty the recent coronavirus spikes have caused, it would not surprise if the NFL had to adjust its schedule at some point soon.

Here is the latest from the league’s effort to navigate the pandemic.

Despite multiple Power 5 conferences making changes to their schedules, the SEC is holding out. The conference will wait until late July to make a decision on how to proceed with its football season, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said (via Fox Sports’ Bruce Feldman, on Twitter). Most states housing SEC schools broke records for coronavirus cases in the past two weeks, with Florida’s Sunday case load (15,300) surpassing all of Europe’s that day.
Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill has been released from the hospital, the team announced. Bidwill contracted the coronavirus and spent time at a Newport, R.I., hospital. The 55-year-old owner has not been in face-to-face contact with Cardinals coaches or players since the pandemic began.
A few key issues loom before the NFL and NFLPA can sign off on a return-to-work edict — the 2021 salary cap, the preseason slate, testing and opt-out protocols being among the main hurdles to clear — but Tony Pauline of ProFootballNetwork.com tweets bonuses are also a sticking point. Players are concerned in-season COVID-19 contractions will result in missed money from per-game roster bonuses, and Pauline adds the NFL and NFLPA are discussing that matter. Players who contract the virus in-season would miss at least a game and possibly more, given the various quarantine policies the NFL has unveiled.
During Friday’s NFLPA meeting multiple questions emerged regarding a strike, per veteran NFL reporter Josina Anderson (on Twitter). This pertained to players’ concerns about being asked to return to work without the NFL providing concrete COVID answers. However, the NFLPA will not opt to strike, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk notes. A strike would give the league the opportunity to pull the plug on the recently agreed-upon CBA, which was sent out for a vote before the pandemic changed the league’s financial standing. While the league believes it can unilaterally implement training camp rules, Florio adds that it is working with the NFLPA to avoid a grievance from the players’ side.

Cardinals Owner Michael Bidwill Tests Positive For COVID-19

July 10th, 2020 at 6:57pm CST by Sam Robinson

Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill has tested positive for COVID-19, the team announced.

Bidwill is the first of the NFL owners known to have contracted the coronavirus. He was hospitalized recently. However, the 55-year-old owner’s symptoms have subsided, according to the team. Bidwill is expected to be released from the hospital this weekend.

The team believes a weeks-long stay on the East Coast resulted in Bidwill contracting the virus. Bidwill, who is in a Rhode Island hospital (per Katherine Fitzgerald of the Arizona Republic), has not had any contact with Cardinals coaches or players since the virtual offseason began.

Bidwill joins Sean Payton, Von Miller and Ezekiel Elliott as high-profile NFL figures who have contracted COVID-19. As of mid-June, around 10 teams had seen a positive coronavirus case. Given the spikes occurring in most states since then, that number may well be higher as we enter mid-July. Teams remain on track to report to training camp July 28, though several key issues remain unresolved.

Joining the family-owned organization in 1996, Bidwill has run the Cardinals since 2007. His father, Bill Bidwill, died in October 2019.