After giving extensions to coach Kliff Kingsbury, GM Steve Keim and now Kyler Murray, Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill has tied his franchise to this group through 2027. But will it pay off?
, and give two other quarterbacks the time and space to sign record-setting contracts that inevitably complicated Murray’s own negotiations. Still, Murray’s deal will pay him a higher annual salary than Watson , while Watson gets more money guaranteed .
Spare us if we are not still panting from the excitement. An accurate headline in this situation might read:. Murray may not be the best quarterback in the NFL, but he is the one of a select few quarterbacks who can make Arizona’s offense work as designed. His threat to run is essential to much of what the Cardinals do schematically. His ability to throw is essential to all of it. There was no market remaining for tradable veteran quarterbacks except for the 49ers’ Jimmy Garoppolo.
The better question, when considering the size and scope of owner Michael Bidwill’s investment in this current version of the roster: Are you sure about all of this? While last year could be seen through rose-colored glasses as a breakthrough season, the Cardinals still collapsed down the stretch losing four of their last five games. They failed to secure the No. 1 seed despite starting the season 7–0. Kingsbury admitted at the scouting combine that, when DeAndre Hopkins tore his MCL in December, he should have been more creative in patching that hole. Hopkins will miss the first six games of this season due to an NFL suspension.