The NFL season is over and the Los Angeles Rams are now the world champions. The Arizona Cardinals made the postseason for the first time since 2015 and had a quick exit, getting bounced in the first round by the eventual champions.
It was an embarrassing loss and a bad end to the season.
In final power rankings for the season on NFL.com, the Cardinals rank right about where they probably should. They come in at No. 13.
The season ended with an ugly fade culminating in an embarrassing no-show against the Rams in the playoffs. And as Los Angeles surged to a Super Bowl title, Arizona was left to do damage control after Kyler Murray deleted any trace of the Cardinals from his social media accounts — a well-worn offseason trope that typically signals discontent for a star. Then came a damning Super Bowl morning report from ESPN in which unnamed sources labeled the former No. 1 pick as “self-centered, immature and [a] finger pointer,” along with a report by NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo that the team wanted Murray to work on his maturity and leadership skills. Given the apparent state of relations between QB — who has since issued a statement decrying “nonsense” — and team, don’t rule out the possibility of Murray becoming a major figure of intrigue on the trade market.
The ranking matches their playoff exit but the description makes things sound much worse. There is no real reason to believe there will be a trade at all. There has been nothing to indicate that is anything remotely likely.
The stuff with Murray and the team will die down once there is actual news again, with free agency coming or contract news from players set to become free agents.
The Cardinals are in a tough situation. They are in a tough division with the defending champions, enter the offseason with many needs and don’t have much cap space.
This will be a big offseason for general manager Steve Keim.
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