Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray has been adamant about receiving a lucrative contract extension before the 2022 regular season begins. And his latest absence from the team signals his willingness to hold out until the issue is addressed. As expected, Murray has elected to skip Arizona's voluntary OTA practices this week, and according to an ESPN report, contract talks between his camp and the front office remain at a standstill.
Cardinals general manager Steve Keim told the "Pat McAfee Show" earlier this week that he's optimistic about finalizing an extension sometime this summer, and also mentioned that preparation for the NFL Draft and free agency period made the timing of negotiations difficult. Murray is entering his fourth season, with a cap hit of $11.3 million. Last month, NFL Media reported that the former first-overall pick isn't expected to play one snap unless he gets a new deal.
"You're talking about how you think he's the future of the franchise and you're going to get something done. Yet, not really a priority now," Maggie Gray said during the Maggie and Perloff show on Thursday. "And you have no outline of a possible contract for the franchise quarterback?... Your job is to make sure your franchise QB is happy. The idea that you couldn't multi-task, to have the framework of a contract, doesn't hold water to me."
"[Keim] didn't even have to say that. It's been three years. You can have four more years of Kyle under your team's control," Andrew Perloff said. "If I'm the Murray camp, I like what Keim's saying. Maybe he's just telling the truth, and he hasn't gotten to do it yet. And they're going to do it in August, and we've wasted some energy... It's timing, in a sense they want to get the best deal possible... As the season gets closer, more pressure on Kyler to sign."
In early February, an ESPN report said that Murray felt he was "framed as the scapegoat" for the Cardinals' ghastly wild-card loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Criticism was warranted, as he threw for only 137 yards with two interceptions and a career-low 40.9 passer rating. Murray's ugly performance also included a costly and blooper-reel pick-six, and overall, he completed only 19 passes.
During Arizona's seven-game winning streak from September to October, the former Heisman winner posted a triple-digit passer rating six times. But, after Week 8, he reached that mark only twice. For the season, Murray completed 69-percent of his passes for 3,787 yards with 29 all-purpose touchdowns and 423 rushing yards. He also logged 10 interceptions and 13 fumble recoveries.
Maggie and Perloff's complete thoughts on Murray's contract dilemma can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow the Maggie and Perloff Show on Twitter @MaggieandPerl and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.