Quarterback Kyler Murray has been engaged in a passive-aggressive squabble with the Arizona Cardinals this offseason. Jae C. Hong/Associated Press
TEMPE, Ariz. — For the Arizona Cardinals, one of the perks of Kyler Murray’s three years as the team’s franchise quarterback is an absence of off-the-field distractions or drama.
That’s changing in a hurry.
In a somewhat unexpected storyline early in the NFL offseason, Murray and the Cardinals have been engaged in a passive-aggressive public squabble after the team’s late-season fade ended in a 34-11 loss on the opening weekend of the NFL playoffs to the Los Angeles Rams on Jan. 17.
The latest salvo came early Monday morning. Murray’s agent Erik Burkhardt sent an all-caps statement to a few media outlets – including ESPN and the NFL Network – pushing for his quarterback to receive a lucrative long-term extension.
“Actions speak much louder than words in this volatile business,” the statement said. “It is now simply up to the Cardinals to decide if they prioritize their rapidly improving, 24-year-old, already 2x Pro Bowl QB, who led the organization from 3 wins before his arrival to 11 wins and their first playoff appearance in 5 years.”
If only it were that simple.
Murray’s contract calls for him to make more than $5 million in 2022, with a base salary of $965,000 and a $4.5 million roster bonus. Unless the current situation continues to deteriorate, the Cardinals are expected to pick up his fifth-year option for the 2023 season.
But Murray’s long-term future is still in flux. The No. 1 overall draft pick in 2019, who won the Heisman Trophy at Oklahoma, is seeking a contract extension that would pay him in the neighborhood of other young star quarterbacks, including Buffalo’s Josh Allen.
Burkhardt’s statement said that Murray’s contract request is “in-line with the current QB market.”
PRESEASON: The Las Vegas Raiders and Jacksonville Jaguars will open the 2022 NFL preseason schedule on Aug. 4 in the Hall of Fame game.
Former Raiders receiver Cliff Branch and defensive lineman Richard Seymour will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Aug. 6, as will ex-Jaguars tackle Tony Boselli.
This will be the fourth appearance by the Raiders in the game and the second for the Jaguars; Jacksonville’s previous participation came in the Jaguars’ first NFL exhibition game in 1995.
INTERNATIONAL GAMES: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will play in the NFL’s first regular-season game in Germany this year and the Green Bay Packers are traveling abroad for the first time.
The league said that the Bucs will host the inaugural game in Munich next season, although their opponents and the date for the game have yet to be announced.
“This historic game will play a crucial role in the NFL’s efforts to grow its international footprint while allowing us to directly engage NFL fans in Germany,” Buccaneers owner and co-chairman Joel Glazer said in a statement.
The Packers and the New Orleans Saints are the designated home teams for two games at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, while the Jacksonville Jaguars will host a game at Wembley Stadium. The Jaguars are London regulars, having come every years since 2013 — except in 2020, when the international games were canceled because of the pandemic.
The Arizona Cardinals will play a game at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.
COMBINE: This week’s stodgy, old NFL scouting combine is going Hollywood.
The sound of silence will be replaced by music as players work out inside. Results and interviews will appear on Lucas Oil Stadium’s video boards and fans will be encouraged to cheer.
Whether all these changes signal a dramatically different future for the league’s second-biggest offseason event remains unclear.
But after a one-year hiatus because of the COVID-19 pandemic, draft prospects, scouts, coaches and team officials are eagerly returning to Indianapolis one more time – perhaps the final time.
“I think the owners of clubs would love to bring a tent-pole event to their town from a fan standpoint, from an economic standpoint,” said Jeff Foster, president of National Football Scouting, which runs the combine. “When they moved the draft to different cities and it took off, I think that’s what sparked the interest and that’s why we started looking at it.”
The moving debate has raged for years, though this time seems different.
There’s an expiring contract, the league’s well-known desire to move big events around the nation, and three cities – Dallas, Indianapolis and Los Angeles – vying to host the event in 2023 and 2024. Final bids are due in early April and Foster anticipates an announcement in late May.
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