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In March, quarterback Kyler Murray claimed his social media scrub had nothing to do with the Cardinals, which was obviously an olive branch from him to the organization.
Then, at the annual league meeting, Arizona head coach Kliff Kingsbury said the franchise and Murray were “in a good place.”
But there could still be trouble in paradise.
NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero reported Tuesday that the Cardinals have yet to make a renewal offer to Murray. And Murray’s agent Eric Burkhardt told Arizona weeks ago that he was pulling his opening proposal off the table.
Pelissero adds that the Cardinals are adamant Murray will not be traded while other teams monitor the situation.
Murray only became eligible for an extension after completing the 2021 season – his third year as a pro. The 2019 No. 1 overall pick is expected to earn a base salary of about $5.5 million in the upcoming season. With Las Vegas’ Derek Carr the latest in a line of quarterbacks to sign a lucrative contract extension over the past few months on Wednesday, it seems Murray wants to be next.
The Cardinals have until May 2 to make a decision on Murray’s fifth-year option, but it seems obvious they will exercise it to sign Murray through 2023. That is, unless something changes dramatically and Murray is sold to another team before then.
Murray has been named to the last two Pro Bowls. While the Cardinals improved to 11-6 and secured a postseason berth after an 8-8 last year, they collapsed near the end of the season. They are losing four of their last five regular-season games and were uncompetitive in a loss to the Rams in the wildcard round.
In 14 games in 2021, Murray completed 69.2 percent of his passes for 3,787 yards with 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He also rushed for 423 yards with five TDs.