This league remains ready to deliver delicious controversy on a seemingly daily basis. Arizona Cardinals starting quarterback Kyler Murray made headline news on Monday morning when fans and followers realized the former No. 1 overall selection unfollowed the Cardinals on various social media platforms while also removing all franchise-related photos from his personal Instagram account.
It's difficult to pinpoint what may have ticked Murray off, but there are several reasons that could have potentially led to his untimely social media outburst. The Cardinals' campaign ended in extreme disappointment following a 4-7 finish to the season, paired with an embarrassing 34-11 wild-card defeat to their division rival Los Angeles Rams. Murray struggled with injury down the crucial stretch and the Cardinals never regained their footing despite boasting a perfect 7-0 record in late October.
Murray could also be unhappy with his contract status after completing the third season of what will surely be a five-year rookie contract once Arizona exercises his fifth-year option. Murray possesses a cap hit of $11.3 million for the 2022 season, and will undoubtedly seek an extremely lucrative contract extension and pay raise sooner rather than later.
Whatever the case, Murray is clearly frustrated with the Cardinals organization and various quarterback-needy teams around the league would be wise to inquire about his availability via trade. Cardinals general manager Steve Keim is extremely unlikely to entertain Murray-related interest, but opposing general managers would be neglecting to perform their dedicated due diligence should they fail to at least inquire about the nature of Murray's situation and unhappiness.
The NFL is preparing to enter an offseason that promises to be filled with quarterback movement. The Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos, Washington Commanders, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Pittsburgh Steelers qualify as teams that must immediately find new starters. The Detroit Lions, Seattle Seahawks, Cleveland Browns, Minnesota Vikings, Indianapolis Colts, Tennessee Titans, and Green Bay Packers could join that list depending on what happens with their current signal-callers. With all of this potential movement, a weak quarterback draft class overall, and a shortage of starting-caliber quarterbacks thought to be available via free agency, several teams must get creative in pursuit of finding an upgrade. Attempting to swing a blockbuster deal with the Cardinals while Murray publicly disrespects the franchise certainly qualifies as a creative effort.
It's nearly impossible to envision a world where Keim expresses even remote interest in trading Murray. Despite the Cardinals' lack of postseason success and late regular-season meltdowns in recent campaigns, Murray has undoubtedly moved the needle forward for a Cardinals team that was hopeless and went 3-13 prior to his arrival. Murray experienced yet another solid season in 2021 by totaling career-highs in completion percentage (69.23%) and yards per completion (7.9) while thriving in Kliff Kingsbury's scheme that focuses on maximizing creative playmakers and spreading defenses thin. The Cardinals must solve their late-season woes, but Murray is a part of the solution, not the problem.
The Cardinals aren't going to trade Murray, but they should find out what's upsetting their franchise signal-caller with the goal of immediately rectifying the situation.
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