All eyes on Kyler Murray after huge extension

After numerous, eye-brow raising headlines involving the Arizona Cardinals and their franchise gunslinger Kyler Murray, the two sides have finally come to a contract agreement by signing a mega contract deal. Murray inked a five-year extension on July 21, worth $230.5 million with way over half guaranteed, $160 million to be exact. 

The extension ties the Cardinals to Murray until 2028, when the QB will be 31. It also makes him the second-highest paid player at his position at $46 million per year.

Murray is off the heels of his best season to date. His completion percentage was a tick under 70% at 69.2. That amounted to 3,787 passing yards, 24 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions in 14 starts. His passer rating also eclipsed the 100.0 mark.

He also racked up five scores on the ground on 88 rush attempts and 423 yards. Presumably, those numbers took a dip compared to last season due to the emergence of running backs Chase Edmonds and James Connor. But with Edmonds signing with the Miami Dolphins, superstar wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins being handed down a critical six-game suspension for using PEDs, speedster Christian Kirk joining the Jacksonville Jaguars receiver room, and defensive end Chandler Jones heading to the Las Vegas Raiders, the pressure is now Kyler more than ever to deliver when it counts the most and here is why.

High Stakes For Murray

Kyler Murray was not his normal self during the finishing stretch of last season. The team did seem to be finding themselves a top three seed in the NFC side of the playoff bracket.

Arizona looked better than the eventual Super Bowl champs and division rival, the Los Angeles Rams. Murray notched a marquee win in decimating fashion, 37-20. 216 combined rushing yards, and a nearly perfect performance from Murray (24-32, 268 YDS, and 2 TD), put the league on notice early in the season. It was a part of the Cardinals’ 7-0 start to the year, which eventually became a 10-2 record. 

While all games in the regular season are important in their own way, there is a cliche saying, “It doesn’t matter how you start, it’s how you finish.” Murray and the Cards nearly turned the lights out on their own postseason hopes with a crippling 1-4 end to the campaign. An ugly defeat to the Rams, 34-11, put on full display that it was not Arizona’s time to take the next step, more specifically for Kyler Murray. 

When at the top of his game, Murray is undoubtedly one the premier talents in the NFL. His short but stout stature gives him a unique blend of strength and elusivity in the pocket.

He is a true dual threat quarterback. Until it’s time to perform on the biggest of stages and brightest of lights. From a distance, it appeared that the team got too comfortable with where they were in the standings at 10-2. They felt they could coast into the playoffs and flip the proverbial switch. 

But, momentum is extremely prevalent in any sport. And the Cardinals did not carry any into the Super Wild Card Weekend matchup. This team goes as Murray does and it’s clear that they followed his lead for the worst. 

Huge Demands Need to Lead to Big Results

Leading up the eventual long-term commitment by the Cardinals front office, Kyler made sure his voice was heard throughout the offseason. He wanted to stay with Arizona but, it would take their willingness to have him entrenched in their future and of course, a humongous amount of money.

The following statement from Murray’s agent Erik Burkdhardt details him and his client’s stance on what they want to do moving forward. This was tweeted out by Ian Rapaport of NFL.com back in February. 

Adding more fuel to the fire, Chris Mortensen of ESPN, tweeted out and reported that “odd vibes” were permeating throughout the organization about how Kyler was perceived. The tweet read:

“The odd vibe between the @AZCardinals and Kyler Murray is indeed alarming:

Murray is described as self-centered, immature and finger pointer, per sources.

Murray is frustrated with franchise and was embarrassed by playoff loss to Rams and thinks he’s been framed as the scapegoat.”

All of these accusations could be out of pure anger by the tough loss in the Cardinals first playoff appearance in five years. Nonetheless, Kyler will need to live up to the contract he feels he deserved if he wants to be viewed as a top five quarterback. And more importantly, be respected by his own fans and organization.

He might not totally live up to the deal (because who really exceeds expectations when they are paid nearly a quarter of a billion dollars!!). But, he must get to a Super Bowl in the next two years. Could he win one in the fourth or fifth year of his lucrative extension?