Less than a month after scrubbing all team-related posts from his social media amid reported friction, the drama involving Arizona Cardinals star quarterback Kyler Murray took a new turn on Monday. Erik Burkhardt, Murray's agent, said in a lengthy statement that the 24-year-old "absolutely" wants to be Arizona's long-term starter. In addition, he shared a detailed contract proposal.
This statement -- which is now a public negotiation -- comes two weeks after Murray addressed rumors of his discontent with the Cardinals. In a statement shared on Twitter, he said in part, "All of this nonsense is not what I'm about, never has been, never will be." In early February, an ESPN report said Murray felt he was "framed as the scapegoat" for Arizona's wild-card round loss.
"We live in a world now that's rapidly changing. Players can say whatever they want and do whatever they want to do," former NFL fullback Lorenzo Neal told The Zach Gelb Show on Monday. "If you do your time and what's right, you're going to get paid. Kyler Murray is a good, fine young quarterback. If this guy just goes and holds his head, does the right thing, there's going to be plenty of teams knocking on your door. And I just think it's tough...
"He's a grown man playing a kid's game, getting a king's ransom -- I don't like the way they're handling it... I think the way he's handling it, to show that he's displeased, I just hate that it's in a lot of the youth... I don't agree with it and I don't agree with the approach... I understand it's about yourself. You've got to make a living, protect your family and all those things. But just the way you're going about it, it's just the wrong way to do it, in my opinion."
Murray's first-career NFL playoff game was ghastly. He threw for just 137 yards with two picks in the Cardinals' humiliating 34-11 wild-card loss to the eventual champion Los Angeles Rams, marking the end to a year in which Arizona was the last undefeated team. His forgettable performance included a costly and blooper-reel pick-six, and overall, he completed only 19 passes and produced a career-low 40.9 passer rating.
During the Cardinals' seven-game winning streak from September to October, Murray posted a triple-digit passer rating six times. After Week 8, however, he reached that mark twice. For the year, Murray threw for 3,787 yards with 29 all-purpose touchdowns, 423 rushing yards, 10 interceptions, and 13 own fumble recoveries. According to Spotrac, Murray will earn a base salary of $965,000 in 2022, and with bonuses factored in, his total cap hit will be $11.3 million.
The entire NFL conversation between Neal and Gelb can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow The Zach Gelb Show on Twitter @ZachGelb and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.