Tag: Steve Keim

The Cardinals’ helpless WR situation had GM Steve Keim literally hugging DeAndre Hopkins in return to practice

Hopkins is the Cardinals’ only hope, and they definitely seem to know it.

At 3-6, the Cardinals’ 2022 campaign probably couldn’t be going any worse.

Arizona has lost four of its last five games while Kyler Murray — after receiving a mega contract extension — has performed like one of the NFL’s worst quarterbacks. And, amidst all the chaos, Kliff Kingsbury doesn’t seem to have any answers to pull his team out of a tailspin.

It hasn’t translated to on-field team results just yet, but DeAndre Hopkins has undoubtedly been a boon to the Cardinals’ offense since he returned from a PED-related suspension. The star receiver has 26 catches for 298 yards and two scores in three games thus far.

And if you thought Arizona, particularly GM Steve Keim, wasn’t ecstatic to have Hopkins come back and potentially rescue them, this clip from Hard Knocks In Season — where Keim literally hugs Hopkins in his first practice back — will tell you how much they’re leaning on the superstar:

Uh, yeah. I’d probably hug the best receiver in football, too, if my team’s offense couldn’t get anything significant rolling along in his absence. Totally understandable.

If it’s any consolation for the Cardinals’ hopes for the rest of the year, they’re currently slated to play just two teams with winning records at the moment — the Chargers and the Patriots. And neither of those squads has inspired much hope for positive consistency either. Meanwhile, the rival Rams, who the Cardinals play this weekend, continue to flounder as well.

That said, given the way Arizona’s season has unfolded, Keim and Co. probably need Hopkins to continue acting as their “Superman” of sorts.

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Patrick Peterson wants to finish career in Minnesota: ‘I would love to stay put’

Peterson has been incredible so far this season and wants to play a few more

Patrick Peterson has made it no secret that he is very happy in Minnesota. In fact, he made it well known that he wanted to rub it in Arizona Cardinals general manager Steve Keim’s face after the Vikings’ win over Arizona on Sunday. Peterson spent the first 10 seasons of his career with the Cardinals and became one of the league’s best cornerbacks.

Peterson spoke with Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press and was very open about his future. He wants to play at least three more seasons in Minnesota with the Vikings.

“At least one more Pro Bowl, one more All-Pro,’’ said Peterson, whose last Pro Bowl nod was in 2018 and last All-Pro selection in 2015. “That would be a nice, satisfying way for me to end off my career, for sure.”

It’s hard to argue with Peterson here. He’s been tremendous so far this season. He currently ranks among Pro Football Focus’ top 10 cornerbacks on the season (10th out of 122).

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His production is what’s been so impressive this season. He has eight pass breakups and one interception while allowing only 48.5% of targets against him to be completed. He also had a tremendous pass breakup against the Cardinals.

The scheme is built for Peterson with his length and football IQ. Even teammate Harrison Smith believes he can go for at least three more years.

“He can still run and move,” Smith said. “He can play as long as he wants.”

At just $4 million this season, Peterson has turned into quite a bargain.

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2022 NFL General Manager Rankings: Starring Bill Belichick (and, uh, Trent Baalke)

Here are the NFL’s top and worst GMs with the 2022 season on the way.

Every NFL team has one person behind the scenes who orchestrates every important move for the future. This person is generally known as the general manager.

The general manager massages the salary cap, ensuring homegrown superstars are well-compensated while also looking ahead to avoid any future pitfalls and penalties. In addition to the whirlwind of free agency, they spearhead a meticulous draft process. They and their team pore over thousands of scouting reports every late winter and spring just to find a handful of quality contributors. In essence, every critical decision that makes or breaks an NFL team’s present and future must pass by their desk before it’s ever approved.

From a savvy veteran in Massachusetts, a bold risk-taker in Los Angeles, to an overmatched embodiment of the Peter Principle in Jacksonville, we’ve covered every end of the spectrum.

Here are For The Win’s 2022 preseason NFL GM rankings.

(Also: Check out our preseason power rankings and our head coach rankings as training camps continue!)

Cardinals GM Steve Keim is the latest to hilariously mock the A’s payroll after Kyler Murray’s contract extension

Keim’s definitely seen all the jokes about the A’s.

Any time a big-name quarterback gets a mega contract extension, there’ll be a ton of conversation about what this means for their future. It might even extend to a discussion about what other elite players deserve.

In the case of the Cardinals’ Kyler Murray, a lot of talks centered on how Murray will now make more annually ($46.1 million) on his new extension than the entire Oakland Athletics’ 2022 payroll ($41.9 million). The A’s, of course, drafted Murray ninth overall in the 2018 MLB Draft.

Now that Murray’s football life is secure for the foreseeable future, even Cardinals GM Steve Keim also made fun of Oakland’s penny-pinching ways. During a Friday press conference about Murray’s new deal, you could tell Keim was just waiting to make a quip about the A’s:

Oh man, that’s hilarious!

That’s a man proud (and relieved!) of his work in locking down one of the best quarterbacks in football.

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‘Patience’ on Kyler Murray’s contract likely costing Cardinals extra

Because the Cardinals would not get the extension done before the draft, they could be looking at $5 million more per year on average.

Arizona Cardinals fans and basically the rest of the NFL are waiting for the announcement that the team has agreed to terms with quarterback Kyler Murray on a big contract extension, making him the highest-paid player in franchise history and one of the most highly paid quarterbacks in the NFL.

Murray’s agent wanted the deal to happen early in the offseason. He issued a long, public statement via social media that he gave the Cardinals a contract offer that would have given Murray a deal that matched the market for quarterbacks then and would lower his cap hit this year and next.

While the specifics of the deal were never released, it was rumored to be around a $40 million per-year average.

The team made it clear that it just wasn’t the right time. They would address the deal in the summer after free agency and the draft.

After all, no other quarterback getting an extension entering his fourth year had gotten a new deal before July.

Now, with other quarterback deals in the offseason, the price tag has gone up.

Expecting an extension before the start of training camp, any deal is expected to be in the range of $45 million per year.

Essentially, because Steve Keim was unwilling to accelerate the extension and not set a new precedent for other quarterbacks down the line, the Cardinals will have to pay Murray $20-30 million more over the life of the deal. In terms of cap space, that could mean an extra contributing player or one higher-quality player on the roster per year.

Being patient, or rather, being stubborn, might have kept them from being the new trendsetter for young quarterbacks, but it will cost them more long-term.

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Cardinals GM Steve Keim praises owner Michael Bidwill for passion, aggressiveness

He just gets it,” Keim said of Bidwill to Pat McAfee. “He is extremely aggressive.

Arizona Cardinals general manager Steve Keim and owner Michael Bidwill have had a good relationship for a while. Keim likes how Bidwill handles his business of being owner.

He spoke very highly of Bidwill when he appeared on the Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday. What stands out to Keim is Bidwill’s passion.

That likely stems from being around the team from the time he was young. The Cardinals have been owned by the Bidwill family for nearly a century.

“He grew up around the game,” Keim said of Bidwill. “He was a guy that was cleaning up jockstraps in training camp when he was a kid.”

Bidwill wants the team to be successful and is involved, something that Keim sees as a positive.

“He just gets it,” Keim added. “He is extremely aggressive. When we talk about going to get players, he’ll fly his plane and go get them. It’s great to have that kind of passion. A guy that comes to the office every day.”

Bidwill flew in Hollywood Brown so that he could be introduced to the fans right after the trade was announced. He flew in J.J. Watt when he signed. Bidwill likes to meet with prominent players when they sign their contracts.

Not every move has been perfect but Bidwill does have good relationships with players. It surely helps to sign players in free agency when the owner is willing to pull out all the stops to land a player.

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Steve Keim believes Kyler Murray extension will happen this summer

Steve Keim told Pat McAfee that the contract extension issue is about timing, He verbally committed to Murray as the future.

The biggest story of the offseason for the Arizona Cardinals so far has been quarterback Kyler Murray and the contract extension he wants and is expected to get. Nothing has happened yet but general manager Steve Keim feels confident that it is going to happen.

Murray’s agent Erik Burkhardt released a lengthy statement months ago about the need to get a deal done for the team’s franchise quarterback. The team punted on a contract offer then.

Why hasn’t a deal gotten done?

“I just think it’s a timing thing,” Keim said on the Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday. “Every quarterback that’s done it before has done it anywhere from July to September.”

That is, indeed, the precedent.

Keim noted the time he has to dedicate to the draft, player evaluations and free agency.

“You have to prioritize,” he said.

Murray’s current contract status makes things less urgent for the team, especially considering Murray’s contract status.

“We know that he is under contract for another year and also the fifth-year option,” he said.

But Keim also made it clear what he thinks of Murray.

“He is our future,” he said. “We feel that way strongly and I feel like we’ll be able to get something done this summer.”

Murray currently has not attended voluntary OTAs and it is supposedly related to not having an extension done. It sounds like this is going to drag on at least another month and perhaps into training camp.

The decision to wait might end up costing the Cardinals more than had they gotten something done early in the offseason.

When Burkhardt presented a contract offer to the team, it was rumored to be in the average of $40 million per year. That offer has since been rescinded and, with new quarterback deals around the league this offseason, some projections have Murray’s new deal surpassing $46 million per year on average.

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Cardinals’ evaluation of CBs on full display in 2022

The Cardinals are counting on three players with less than four years of experience in the league to be their starters.

The Arizona Cardinals’ defensive success in 2022 could be determined by the play they get at cornerback. In fact, because of how general manager Steve Keim has built the room, we get to see just how well they evaluate young cornerback talent.

Why?

They are relying on three young players to be their starters — Byron Murphy, Marco Wilson and Jeff Gladney

First is Murphy. He was the Cardinals’ second-round pick in 2019. They had him in the top five of their draft board.

They have used “young star” to describe him. Keim believes Murphy is one of the better slot cornerbacks in the league.

His play has been inconsistent.

Next is Wilson. They traded up in the draft to select him in 2021 and Keim believed that Wilson was the steal of their draft class. They are bullish about his future.

He ended up a starter as a rookie. He had late struggles but was more than adequate for much of the year.

They signed Gladney this offseason after his legal troubles were cleared up. Originally drafted in the first round in 2020 by the Minnesota Vikings, he missed a year after being charged with assault. He was acquitted and the Cardinals signed him this offseason.

On more than one occasion, front office executives have been bullish. Director of pro personnel Dru Grigson considers the signing of Gladney like getting another first-round pick. Vice president of player personnel Quentin Harris believes Gladney is a potential steal in free agency.

None of the three is exactly an established player.

Because the Cardinals are counting on these three players, they are banking on their ability to evaluate young cornerback talent.

They don’t have to necessarily be great, but they need to be consistent and solid. If they are not, it raises questions about how the Cardinals scout and evaluate cornerbacks.

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Cardinals have 1st-round grade on more players than many teams in NFL

The Cardinals have 26 or 27 players given first-round grades. Some teams have fewer than 15.

The NFL draft begins this Thursday with the first round. This is the round that gets the most attention because it is the highest-profile prospects.

Many feel this draft class is stronger than last year’s because so many players opted to stay in school an extra year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, many teams view this draft class as having fewer top prospects.

Some teams have fewer than 15 players with first-round grades.

That is not the case for the Arizona Cardinals.

In his predraft press conference last week, general manager Steve Keim said they have “about 26, 27 guys” with first-round grades.

The Cardinals have the 23rd overall pick in the draft.

With some teams viewing fewer players as being worth a first-round pick, it could give the Cardinals the opportunity to trade up. It also means that the Cardinals would be willing to stand pat because someone they have a first-round grade on is guaranteed to be there at No. 23 if there are truly 26 or 27 players they grade that way.

In a draft class with a lot of uncertainty, the Cardinals believe it is stronger at the top of the draft than many other teams do.

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Cardinals could trade up ‘4 or 5 spots’ in first round

GM Steve Keim could see the Cardinals moving up a few spots if there is an impact player, or moving back if things play out a certain way.

The Arizona Cardinals have the 23rd pick in the 2022 NFL draft next week. They have made trades in the first round before. In 2018, they traded up to select quarterback Josh Rosen.

In 2014, they traded back a few spots and landed linebacker Deone Bucannon.

General manager Steve Keim said Thursday that they could move up this year if the situation were right.

“Going through the exercises, there are a number of scenarios that, depending on how the board falls, that there could be an option really to go up four or five spots and potentially get a guy that we think is a dynamic playmaker or a difference-maker,” he told reporters at his predraft press conference.

Keim said that the three positions that they are focusing on in this draft are receiver, cornerback and pass rusher.

He did not rule out trading back.

“If there’s something that maybe we get to a point where we’re not thrilled, or we have four or five players sort of in the same area, you can probably move back some picks and acquire more and still get the player you want,” he said.

Since the Cardinals do not have a selection in the fourth or fifth rounds, so moving back could potentially net them a pick earlier on Day 3 than their five in the final two rounds.

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