It is well known that the key to having a successful team in the NFL is to have a great quarterback. It is even better when that quarterback is on a rookie contract. There is great value in that because he is cost controlled for four seasons and money can be used to put talent around him.
That is where the Arizona Cardinals are with Kyler Murray. Murray had great production as a rookie and also projects to be a great quarterback.
That is how he landed in the top 10 of Greg Rosenthal’s QB value rankings for NFL.com.
Murray comes in at No. 6.
If there’s nothing more valuable to a team than a star quarterback on a rookie deal, then the Cardinals have it made. Murray checked every box in his first season to foster belief that he’ll join the ranks of the players above. He’ll enter his second season with a cap figure less than Marcus Mariota and virtually the same as Ryan Fitzpatrick. General manager Steve Keim knows he shouldn’t wait to maximize the first window of the Murray era and he showed it with the acquisition of DeAndre Hopkins. Combinations like Murray and coach Kliff Kingsbury are where the NFL is headed.
With what Murray did as a rookie, there are few quarterbacks I would prefer to have right now. Obviously, Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson have already proven themselves.
It seems unfair to expect Murray to have a meteoric leap in 2020 like Patrick Mahomes and Jackson had in their second season, but that is the hope.
The Cardinals know they have a three-year window to try and maximize talent around Murray before they have to pay him like a top quarterback.
If Murray improves in Year 2, the Cardinals might be in a situation where they would prefer to have Murray than any other in the league.
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Ep. 262
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Ep. 261
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