About halfway through the 2021 season, it looked like Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals may be spending the week leading up to Super Bowl LVI preparing to play in the game.
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Instead, last week turned into a passive-aggressive back-and-fourth between the two parties.
For his part, Murray said in a social media post Monday that he has no interest in continuing to be part of what he deemed to be "nonsense":
What's strange is that at no point in this post does Murray shed light on what the "nonsense" is or whether he's worked things out behind the scenes with key decision-makers in the Cardinals organization.
Early last week, the internet became aware that Murray had scrubbed both his Twitter and Instagram of any images or mentions of him playing for the Cardinals, while also unfollowing the team's accounts.
The Cardinals -- in a decision that seemingly wouldn't have been made by a social media manager -- copied Murray by deleting all their images on social media, except two. The two were of Murray playing in the Pro Bowl, and him being selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
The Cardinals have since restored all their old images. Murray has not.
Over the weekend, ESPN's Chris Mortensen attempted to give insight into what has caused a disconnect between the two parties:
Of note is that Murray, who has now completed three NFL seasons, is eligible for a new contract this offseason. While Murray's rookie contract runs for two more seasons -- assuming the Cardinals exercise his fifth-year option this offseason -- a long-term deal after three seasons is hardly unprecedented. Each of Carson Wentz, Jared Goff, Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen signed mega deals after their third NFL seasons. It's hard to imagine Murray joining that group given where things stand currently.
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