“Kyler Murray took $230 million to finish last, the Russell Westbrook of the NFL”: Twitter explodes after Cardinals QB inks massive extension

Kyler Murray and the Cardinals agreed upon a 5 year, $230.5 million dollar deal extension with $160 million guaranteed. Will they find any playoff success though?

Kyler Murray was the 1st overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft to the Arizona Cardinals. Paired with offensive guru Kliff Kingsbury, the duo was tasked with lifting the Cardinals to relevancy. However, after 3 seasons together, they aren’t doing as well as they hoped.

Murray has filled up the stat sheet but it hasn’t translated so well to the wins column. Murray has had just one winning season, being the most recent one, where he looked severely underprepared in a 34-11 blowout loss to the LA Rams in the Wild Card Round.

The Cardinals have gone all in on Kyler, making many moves to improve the team around him. Most notably, they traded for Deandre Hopkins, a top notch wide receiver. Other notable acquisitions on the offensive side of the ball include James Conner, AJ Green, Zach Ertz, and Rodney Hudson.

Even with all this help, Murray has struggled to shine towards late in the season and in the playoffs when he is needed the most. In 2020 and 2021, all of Kyler’s numbers take a dive during the last half of the season compared to the first. Completion %, yards per game, touchdowns per game all decline.

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Kyler Murray Has More On His Shaky Shoulders Than Ever With His Lucrative Contract

Murray’s 5 year extension worth up to $230.5 million dollars puts him at number 2 on the quarterback salary rankings based on average annual value. The only quarterback above him? Reigning back to back MVP Aaron Rodgers.

Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen, the clear cut future quarterbacks of the league, are calculated to be at #4 and #5 respectively. What did Kyler do to deserve this type of money? Mahomes has won a Super Bowl, regular season MVP, and is one of the greatest talents ever already. Allen has put up ridiculous stats with playoff success that only seems to end in the hands of Mahomes.

Kyler Murray, with his brand new contract, will leave less for his teammates and future free agents. This will leave the Cardinals with less talent to surround Kyler. With 0 playoff wins to his name, can Kyler deliver playoff success while owning a large part of the salary cap?

NFL Twitter had a few reactions for the extension as well. Many people believed the extension was a massive overpay. Some even compared Murray to Russell Westbrook in the NFL.

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