As Kyler Murray contract talks with the Arizona Cardinals remain stagnant, the team has made sure that he’ll be around through at least the 2023 season.
According to NFL Media’s Ian Rapopot, the Cardinals have picked up the fifth-year option on Murray’s rookie contract.
As the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, Arizona had an option to pick up the fifth-year on Murray’s rookie deal. In no way can this be seen as a surprise.
- Kyler Murray contract: $11.39 million cap hit in 2022; $29.7 million cap hit in 2023
As you can see, Murray’s price tag will grow substantially in 2023. Of course, this is reliant on him not signing an extension during the remainder of the 2022 offseason or in the spring of 2023.
Related: Kyler Murray contract and the NFL’s highest-paid QBs
Kyler Murray contract status
It was earlier in April that Murray’s agent, Erik Burkhardt, revoked his initial contract proposal to the Cardinals. In turn, Arizona has not offered the Pro Bowl signal caller a concrete contract.
Eligible for an extension for the first time in his career, the 24-year-old Murray wants to be one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL. That is to say, a new contract valued at $40-plus million annually. Statistically, he’s more than worth it.
- Kyler Murray stats (career): 67% completion, 11,480 passing yards, 1,786 rushing yards, 90 total TD, 34 INT, 93.9 rating
Those are some great numbers. At issue here is Arizona’s struggles closing out the past couple seasons. The team found itself at 7-0 last season before losing six of its final 10 regular-season games. Arizona then lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams in the wild card round.
For his part, Murray regressed big time as the season progressed. He compiled 20 total touchdowns and five interceptions through that seven-game winning streak. After that, Murray threw seven touchdowns against five interceptions in his final seven regular-season starts.
Despite all of this, there’s a decent chance that a Murray extension could come at some point during the summer.
Related: Kyler Murray trade scenarios
“When I tweeted about Steve Keim’s comments yesterday that there was ‘zero chance’ the Cardinals would trade Kyler Murray, Murray then responded to my tweet with the 100-emoji. Meaning he’s for it. So we have come a long way with the Arizona Cardinals and Kyler Murray,” Rapoport said Friday on the NFL Network.
It doesn’t sound like they’ve gotten there yet on a contract. If you listen to the timeline Steve Keim discussed, it sounds like get through the draft, get through some of this spring stuff, and then maybe get to work and have an extension at some point during the summer, or before training camp,” he continued. “But at least the two sides are at a point where they acknowledge no one is going anywhere … this is a match that makes sense, and it seems like they are moving forward together.”
NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport on potential Kyler Murray contract extension
It will certainly be interesting to see what comes of this with trade rumors swirling around the young quarterback in the desert. For now, it seems more likely that Murray will sign an extension than be traded.