Decoding the message the Cardinals may be sending about Kyler Murray

As Pete Campbell stated, “Not good, Bob!”

So, what is going on on? Why is Arizona’s proprietor, Michael Bidwill, a person not identified for frequent media interactions, occurring native radio to sing Kyler’s praises? Why are the Cardinals posting public affirmations to their QB who, if reduce this offseason, would drop the blade on an $81.5 million dead-cap guillotine to their wage cap?

The general public fawning is their solution to higher chum the commerce waters

In a scenario paying homage to a center college romance, the Cardinals cannot categorical their need to commerce Murray with out cratering any potential commerce worth he might need. The extra obtainable he’s, the much less fascinating he turns into.  

How do you flip that scenario on its head? Profess your timeless love. Publicly, no much less. Venture the vibes that you just’d must be blown away by a proposal to even take into account buying and selling him.

Buying and selling Murray lowers the dead-cap cost to $46 million, which remains to be substantial and could be the most important dead-cap cost ever taken. Nevertheless it’s virtually half the $81.5 million cost for chopping him. And it is a quantity Arizona can take in with out as a lot collateral roster injury because it suits underneath the $51.3 million in cap room that Over the Cap at present initiatives the Cardinals to have.  

The Cardinals have recognized a QB they actually like on this upcoming draft

Wish to choose a QB within the draft however don’t desire anybody to know you might be planning to try this? What higher solution to throw the entire league off your scent than by going excessive and telling the world how blissful you might be together with your present QB?

In what’s trying to be a generationally loaded QB class with a transparent high three, a group choosing fourth would do properly to obscure its intentions.

Drafting a QB would permit the Cardinals to let Murray play for a yr whereas their rookie QB redshirts and provides the veteran a possibility to construct up his commerce worth. If all else fails, Arizona might reduce him subsequent offseason for a extra palatable $33.2 million dead-cap cost.

Or are we merely in unknown territory?

There are too many identified unknowns to totally decipher this problem right now. We do not know the way Arizona feels about Murray. We do not know what Bidwill’s urge for food for dead-cap consumption is. We do not know what the Cardinals plan to do within the draft, they usually most likely do not know but, both.

In 2019, it took somewhat over 2.5 months to find that QB Josh Rosen wasn’t, in reality, the QB for Kingsbury and the Cardinals.  

This time round, look to April 27. By the point Mr. Irrelevant’s card will get handed in, we must always know what, if something, this sporadic outburst of Murray reward was all about.