Opinion

Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals are headed into somewhat of a make-or-break 2022 season.

For most of 2021, the Redbirds looked like one of the better teams in the NFC. But after a 10-2 start, they fell apart down the stretch, losing four of their last five games before being embarrassed in the Wild Card Round by the Los Angeles Rams.

They're now embroiled in a contract standoff with Murray that is showing no signs of abating anytime soon.

Murray is a talented, young quarterback with a potentially bright future. However, it's still unclear whether he's a true "franchise" quarterback who's worthy of a massive financial investment. 

The easiest way for the Cardinals to avoid a potentially catastrophic mistake is to let Murray earn that whopper of an extension by showing he's capable not only of making the playoffs, but of making noise once he gets there.

The latest chapter in the ongoing saga came Monday, when ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Murray will not be in attendance when Arizona opens OTAs this week:

Things may be "quiet" on the contract front right now, but that hasn't been the case for much of the offseason. Murray's agent, Erik Burkhardt, released a statement back in February about an extension proposal that he sent to the Cardinals.

"Actions speak louder than words in this volatile business," the statement reads in part. "It is now simply up to the Cardinals to decide if they prioritize their rapidly improving 24-year-old, already 2X Pro Bowl QB, who led the organization from 3 wins before his arrival to 11 wins and their first playoff appearance in 5 years."

Just before Burkhardt released his statement, Murray scrubbed all references to the Cardinals from his social media, leading some to speculate that there was acrimony between him and the team. ESPN's Chris Mortensen added fuel to that fire by tweeting that said acrimony wasn't necessarily one-sided.

"The odd vibe between the (Cardinals) and Kyler Murray is indeed alarming," Mortensen said. "Murray is described as self-centered, immature and a finger pointer, per sources. Murray is frustrated with franchise and was embarrassed by playoff loss to Rams and thinks he's been framed as the scapegoat."

Since then, both sides have been conveying that all is well and hugs and rainbows. Murray decried any talk of a rift as "nonsense," while the team released a statement supporting the 24-year-old signal-caller (via Pro Football Talk).

"Nothing has changed regarding our high opinion and high regard for Kyler Murray," the statement said. "We as a team and Kyler individually have improved each year he has been in the league. We are excited to continue that improvement in 2022 and are excited that Kyler Murray is the quarterback leading us."

During a recent appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network said he thinks the Cardinals will get a contract done for Murray:

"I think they are fine. I think they are on the same page. I think they are moving forward together. He's going to be there; he's going to be the Cardinals' quarterback this year. ... They just aren't there yet when it comes to a contract, and I think this summer's probably a better timetable as far as when it might get done. ... He'll be at mandatory [camp], I think—I shouldn't say 'I'm sure'—I think."

Here's the thing, though. The Cardinals' wisest course of action is to not re-up Murray. Not yet.

For starters, it isn't like Murray would be hitting free agency next spring. Arizona already picked up his fifth-year option for 2023, which will pay him around $29.7 million.

It isn't surprising that Murray's agent would point to last year's 11-win campaign as proof that he has earned an extension. When a team succeeds in the NFL, the quarterback often gets the credit.

However,  Burkhardt failed to mention that the past two Decembers have been a much different story. And when we last saw Murray on the field, it was in perhaps the most abysmal effort of his NFL career.

In the Cardinals' 34-11 loss to the Rams in the Wild Card Round, he was 19-of-34 for 137 yards and a pair of interceptions, including one of the ugliest pick-sixes you'll ever see.

That wasn't the first time that Murray was ridiculously careless with the ball in his own end zone, either. In a Christmas Day loss to the Indianapolis Colts, Murray was whistled for intentional grounding (and a safety) after chucking up another wobbler while under duress.

Poor play down the stretch has been more rule than exception for Murray the past two years. Over his first nine starts in 2021, Murray posted a passer rating of over 100 seven times. Over his final five regular-season games, he hit that benchmark only once—in Arizona's lone win over that span.

It was a similar story the year before. After a Week 10 home victory over the Buffalo Bills, the Cardinals were 6-3 and on track for the playoffs. Over those first nine games, Murray had a passer rating of 100-plus four times and multiple touchdown passes in five games. Over the last seven games of the 2020 campaign, Murray posted a triple-digit passer rating only twice and managed multiple scoring passes three times. Arizona lost five of those final seven games and missed the postseason.

In fairness, Murray isn't solely responsible for the team's December swoons over the past two years. Injuries played a part, and last I looked, Murray doesn't play defense.

But it can't be ignored that in each of the past two seasons, Murray's level of play dropped off considerably as the pressure mounted. He also supposedly refused to re-enter the blowout loss to the Rams late in the fourth quarter despite being implored by veteran backup Colt McCoy to get back out there with his teammates, according to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo.

That doesn't alleviate concerns that Murray cares more about himself than his team. Neither does skipping OTAs as he angles for a fat payday.

Murray's next contract is sure to be mammoth. We're likely talking $45 million or more per season. And after the Cleveland Browns fully guaranteed every cent of Deshaun Watson's new deal, Murray will likely want most of his money to carry similar guarantees.

That type of contract will dictate everything else the Cardinals do financially over the next several years. And it could bury the team if Murray turns out to be less Aaron Rodgers and more Jared Goff.

Many will dismiss the notion that Murray is anything less than a superstar in the making and the face of the Cardinals. And in fairness to him, we have seen flashes of that kind of ability. If he digs in over the summer, fans will want the team to pay the man.

But Murray hasn't shown that he can play at an elite level consistently for an entire season, much less back that up the following year. His lone playoff start was a nightmare.

Before the Cardinals break the bank and pay Murray like a superstar, the team needs to be sure that he is indeed a superstar. The easiest way to do that is to make him prove it—before they cut the check.

The 2022 NFL draft has come and gone, and Jimmy Garoppolo remains a member of the San Francisco 49ers. This probably wasn't the plan when the team used the third overall pick in the 2021 draft on Trey Lance, and it might be a disappointing development for some fans.

Garoppolo has played well enough, when healthy, to keep San Francisco in title contention. However, the 49ers targeted Lance because of the North Dakota State product's upside and because of Garoppolo's extensive injury history.

Over the past four seasons, Garoppolo has missed 25 games. "Well enough" is not quite what San Francisco is hoping to get from the quarterback position.

Lance—who racked up 2,786 passing yards, 1,100 rushing yards, 42 combined touchdowns and no interceptions in his last season as a collegiate starter in 2019—has all the tools required of a modern and elite NFL quarterback. However, he came out as an unfinished product, and allowing him to sit behind Garoppolo for a year was always the plan.

Keeping both quarterbacks in 2022, however, wasn't part of San Francisco's strategy. The 49ers have weighed trade options for the veteran this offseason but have been unsuccessful in moving him. This has left a situation in which Garoppolo and Lance may have to vie for the starting job in 2022.

Fans ready to see Lance take the reins wish the 49ers weren't here. Members of the organization hoping to flip Garoppolo for valuable assets don't either. However, the 49ers could face much bigger problems than having to pick between the future and the placeholder in the coming months.

Why Is Garoppolo Still a 49er?

Throughout the 2021 season, it felt like Garoppolo was making his final San Francisco run and auditioning for a future employer. Lance was waiting in the wings, occasionally seeing the field as a change-of-pace quarterback, and he made a pair of starts when Garoppolo was unavailable.

The eventual torch-passing was apparent, and Garoppolo certainly sounded like a player who didn't expect to be back after the season.

Yet, he is still on the roster, and there are a few reasons why. For starters, the 49ers brass may have misjudged (or perhaps wildly overestimated) his trade value early in the offseason. General manager John Lynch tried to create the impression that he could get at least a pair of second-round picks for the 30-year-old.

According to ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio, Lynch was "telling interested teams" that he had an offer of two second-round picks for Garoppolo on the table in March. It's unclear who those interested teams were, but none of them bit with an offer good enough to force Lynch's hand.

If Lynch really did have that offer, he probably should have taken it. If he was simply trying to raise Garoppolo's value, it didn't work. Florio later provided some insight into why:

"The biggest problem, as one league source explained it on Saturday, is the shoulder surgery Garoppolo underwent earlier this month. No one will trade for a quarterback with a $25 million compensation package after he underwent surgery to repair the labrum in his throwing shoulder, the source explained."

On one hand, Garoppolo has shown that he can win. He's gone 33-14 as a starter with San Francisco and posted a solid 98.7 passer rating last season.

However, Garoppolo's recovery, coupled with his $27 million 2022 cap hit, does present a problem. Teams know that he can be a solid starter, but they don't want to overpay for a guy who has struggled to stay healthy.

The other big factor hurting Garoppolo's market was the flurry of quarterback trades we saw this offseason. Russell Wilson, Matt Ryan and Deshaun Watson were all moved, which left few potential landing spots for San Francisco's trade chip.

There are even fewer quarterback-needy teams now that the draft has passed. The Pittsburgh Steelers took Kenny Pickett in the first round, while teams like the Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons took fliers on quarterbacks on Day 2.

This has left San Francisco with a firm grasp on Garoppolo's 2022 rights heading into OTAs and minicamp, but the 49ers do have other options.

What's Next for Jimmy G?

The first thing to note about Garoppolo's immediate future is that he's still recovering from shoulder surgery. Assessing his accurate trade value will be difficult until/unless he's healthy enough to pass the required medical checks.

However, trading Jimmy G before the start of training camp is still a possibility, and one the 49ers are reportedly eyeing.

"Garoppolo's shoulder is slated to get the all-clear in late June or early July, at which point the Niners will again seek a trade partner," ESPN's Nick Wagoner wrote.

Once Garoppolo is back near 100 percent, the next step will be finding a potential trade partner unhappy enough with its quarterback situation—or one that has experienced a significant injury at the position—to pull the trigger on Jimmy G.

If, for example, rookie Matt Corral and Sam Darnold both fall flat in OTAs and minicamp, the Panthers may consider making a reasonable offer for Garoppolo. Of course, the Cleveland Browns have a potential quarterback trade chip in Baker Mayfield, which complicates matters.

If a team like Carolina does reenter the quarterback market, San Francisco will have to strike a balance between beating Cleveland to the punch and setting a favorable asking price. Selling low just to undercut the Browns would be a mistake.

The 49ers should not be willing to move Garoppolo for proverbial pennies just to get him off the roster either. While his cap hit isn't a bargain, it's not outrageous. Neither is the idea of keeping him on the roster for one more season.

This is the other option San Francisco must consider, and given the state of the franchise, it's one that actually makes a ton of sense.

Keeping Both Quarterbacks Could Be Right Move for San Francisco

At some point, the 49ers are going to turn things over to Lance. This isn't a situation like the one the Green Bay Packers have with Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Love. Garoppolo is an above-average game manager at best, and he's not going to keep Lance on the bench forever.

In today's NFL, young quarterbacks simply don't sit for long, the Packers' case being a rare exception. Quarterbacks do their developing on the field and in live game situations, and for that reason, going to Lance now would make some sense.

However, the 49ers aren't like most franchises looking to groom a first- or second-year signal-caller. They have a roster ready to compete for Super Bowls, as evidenced by last year's trip to the NFC title game.

San Francisco's window is open, and the 49ers need to take advantage by playing the quarterback who gives them the best chance to win now. As tight end George Kittle recently pointed out, that's going to give coach Kyle Shanahan a tough decision to make if both quarterbacks are on the roster in Week 1.

Kittle recently said the following, per Florio:

"That's one reason I'm glad I'm not the head coach of the 49ers. That's all on Coach Shanahan. I'll give you both ways. Jimmy G, awesome in the huddle, great leader, directs guys. People go to attention when he's talking. He's got a quick release, he knows the offense. Like I said, been to two NFC Championship games, knows what he's doing. Trey Lance can run, extend plays, does all the play-action stuff incredible, could throw the ball 70 yards. I don't know. It's a toss-up for me."

Lance showed flashes as a rookie, passing for 603 yards, rushing for 168, tallying six combined touchdowns and throwing two interceptions in six appearances with two starts. Is he ready to start on a full-time basis, though? Keeping Garoppolo gives San Francisco a tremendous insurance policy if he isn't.

The challenge will be deciding whether to make Garoppolo an insurance policy as a backup or allow him to start early while working Lance into the lineup as a situational quarterback. That's a decision Shanahan and Co. can answer with an honest and open camp competition.

If Lance is the better quarterback in camp and is ready to take over, great. If he isn't, that's OK too because the 22-year-old still has a tremendously bright future. Keeping Garoppolo doesn't change that fact, and that's what San Francisco should do if an enticing trade offer doesn't come down the pike in the next few months.

Lance has all the physical and mental tools needed to eventually be among the league's best quarterbacks. Garoppolo doesn't have the ceiling Lance does, but he's proved he can successfully lead San Francisco deep into the postseason.

Having to pick between the two is a good problem to have for a 49ers franchise hoping to reach the Super Bowl this season and for multiple seasons in the future.

Every year the NFL produces a handful of breakout performers that make the playoffs. In 2021, the Las Vegas Raiders, Cincinnati Bengals, Arizona Cardinals, and Philadelphia Eagles emerged as a surprise. Each had expectations to be somewhere between below average and average, but not solid playoff teams.

But on the other hand, others had to fall short of expectations to help those teams break through. Injuries played a large part in the disappointing campaigns of the Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, New Orleans Saints, and Minnesota Vikings.

After seeing the free agency frenzy and 2022 NFL draft play out, no team has a bigger boom-or-bust season on deck than the Ravens. Baltimore finished 8-9 in 2021 despite losing five games of Lamar Jackson, a full season from several other impact players, and a breakout year from Cincinnati. It might be easy to do the math of reintegrating those talented players and project a healthy year from Jackson, but the NFL doesn't work like that.

We'll dive into three key areas of why the Ravens could again miss the playoffs in 2022 or reestablish themselves as a Super Bowl contender. An extreme season either way could have major ramifications on how the franchise proceeds with Jackson's contract.

Sink or Swim with Greg Roman

The 2021 season continued the Ravens' descent from their astonishing 14-2 finish in 2019, dipping to 11-5 in 2020 and down to 8-9 last season.

After two disappointing divisional-round losses in the two prior seasons where the offense was exposed as one-dimensional, offensive coordinator Greg Roman had to get away from his run-heavy game plans with Jackson. Unfortunately, injuries to left tackle Ronnie Stanley and running backs J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards erased the explosive element of the run game. 

Roman responded with a vastly different offensive attack after accounting for the limited personnel. The Ravens finished last in the NFL in both 2019 and 2020 in passing attempts and first in the run game. Baltimore still had the third-most attempts and yards in 2021, but its passing attempts swelled to the ninth-highest in the league.

The result was predictable, considering the Ravens' issues along their offensive line and an uninspiring receiving group. Jackson was sacked a career-high 38 times at a career-high nine percent sack rate. 

His touchdown rate dropped from 9.0 percent in 2019 and 6.9 percent in 2020 to just 4.2 percent. Jackson's interception rate jumped dramatically to 3.4 percent, which ranked 31st. This iteration of the offense clearly didn't work.

Some of that was due to the personnel. Nonetheless, Roman failed to build a creative passing game that elevated the receivers above their talent level or evolved the rushing game beyond read-option looks that never threatened the defense. 

Baltimore has entrusted their offensive identity to Roman once again in 2022 after retooling the personnel. 

The good news is the offensive line should be much better. Getting Stanley back is massive, and the addition of right tackle Morgan Moses provides stability and much-improved pass protection. Joining them will be first-round center Tyler Linderbaum.

The primary issue with Baltimore is its receiving corps. The Ravens opted to trade receiver Marquise "Hollywood" Brown for a first-round pick that resulted in Linderbaum but have not added a notable talent to take his place. This is despite the team's knowledge of Brown's trade request since the start of the offseason and the fact that they didn't need to fulfill his request since he had two more years of control on his contract.

Barring a trade or a free-agent signing, Roman will rely heavily on elite tight end Mark Andrews, 2021 first rounder Rashod Bateman and a bevy of former middle-round picks who showed next to nothing over the last two years. Even Bateman needs to prove he can consistently get open since Roman's scheme lacks creative concepts that spring big plays for receivers.

Brown had his faults, but he was a respected deep threat and trusted receiver for Jackson. Taking away his element limits the upside for offensive design. Roman will have to balance his approach to avoid overly relying on running the ball like in 2019 and 2020 and having Jackson perform straightforward dropbacks like in 2021. 

Banking on Recoveries

Every NFL team deals with injuries at some point, so a team's depth and ability to scheme for missing playmakers go a long way in withstanding tough losses. By mid-December, Baltimore's starting lineup had become a desolate shell of what it once was.

We already mentioned the return of Jackson, Stanley, Dobbins and Edwards, but several other game-changers are set to hit the field at some point in 2022. Marlon Humphrey missed five games, while Marcus Peters and Derek Wolfe missed the entire season.

If each comes back to play 17 games and Bateman develops into a reliable solid starter, the Ravens should expect to be among the top overall AFC teams. Jackson, even with a dip in his numbers, is an extremely smart passer who made the most out of what was available last year. His accuracy and touch continued to improve on difficult throws, even if his numbers didn't always show it.

The defense will get a crucial boost if Humphrey and Peters return to their usual form, as both are ballhawks and impactful coverage defenders. Few teams can withstand the loss of two starting corners—especially ones as good as Humphrey and Peters—and survive. Baltimore's dip to 19th in points allowed and 25th in yards allowed after being a top-seven defense in both categories in prior years is understandable.

Factor in the addition of safeties Marcus Williams and Kyle Hamilton, plus the development of linebacker Patrick Queen and edge-rusher Odafe Oweh, and this defense should again be effective.

Granted, the Ravens are counting on healthy recoveries for three torn ACLs (Dobbins, Peters, and Edwards), a pectoral tear (Humphrey), and two ankle injuries (Jackson and Stanley) to help reestablish themselves as an elite team in what is already a stacked division and conference. Baltimore can't stomach the loss of any of these players besides Edwards for an extended period of time in 2022.

If any suffers a setback or isn't performing at the level Baltimore needs from them, the divisional competition will eat at its playoff odds.

Divisional Competition

Forget the rest of the AFC—which includes a loaded West division, the Buffalo Bills, an Indianapolis Colts team with Matt Ryan, and the Tennessee Titans—the Ravens need to survive their own division. The AFC North alone will provide six difficult battles for Baltimore.

DraftKings has the Cleveland Browns as the favorites to win the division, followed by the Bengals, then the Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers. The race is expected to be tight, so the margin for error is slim.

We still haven't received any clarity on whether the NFL will suspend new Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson as he faces 22 civil lawsuits for allegations of sexual assault and sexual misconduct. If Watson only misses a handful of games, Cleveland's deep roster may be able to survive in the playoff race without him. It's also possible its Week 7 showdown against the Ravens is the first time Watson plays for the Browns.

The Bengals are an obvious threat after their Super Bowl appearance last year, fielding a ton of offensive firepower and an underrated defense. The Ravens surrendered 41 points in each of their two matchups last season.

Pittsburgh doesn't appear to be as much of a challenge after losing Ben Roethlisberger and replacing him with Mitchell Trubisky and Kenny Pickett. However, the Steelers haven't had a losing season under head coach Mike Tomlin yet and still beat the Ravens in both of their games in 2021.

It's possible the Ravens prove skeptics wrong, either by staying healthy and seeing the offense become more diverse or outperforming their previous levels of play. Any type of setback could mean they're battling in the final weeks for a wild-card spot or not in the race at all. They simply don't have the roster depth or proven, healthy playmaking their peers do entering this critical season.

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By now, the discourse around former WWE women's tag team champions Sasha Banks and Naomi walking out on an episode of Raw has covered a broad range of topics. 

But there's a potential elephant in the room worth addressing: This feels like it was inevitable. 

Inevitably, Superstars were bound to tire of how champions and championships themselves within WWE get treated. The company has a moments problem in which it tries to shock and create viral situations that hamper long-term booking, but it's long had a titles problem, too. 

To back it up a bit, Banks and Naomi walked out on the May 16 edition of Raw, prompting WWE to put out a statement that included language such as "They claimed they weren't respected enough as tag team champions."

Since then, mostly speculation and rumors have filled in the gaps, suggesting both women would go on to challenge for individual titles and not defend the tag belts for months on end. WWE then stripped them of those titles and will hold a tournament to crown new champions while their fate, as of this writing, remains up in the air. 

Banks and Naomi won their tag titles at WrestleMania 38 and defended them just twice, once to best Rhea Ripley and Liv Morgan and then to defeat Natalya and Shayna Baszler. Taking a quick look at the booking, it's pretty clear there were no other teams that would challenge for their titles, meaning no future tag defenses. 

And let's be honest, the rest of the company's titles aren't getting much better treatment. Which, for the most part, means the Superstars themselves aren't, either. 

Look at the very top of the company, where Roman Reigns holds both the leading men's titles. His feud with Brock Lesnar derailed the entire run to WrestleMania 38, including landmark events such as the Royal Rumble. Now clutching both, the company doesn't have a good way to get one of the titles off him and set things right for the men's main event scene—and could well keep things this way through the next 'Mania. 

Farther down the card, the United States title didn't even get defended on a two-night WrestleMania. Neither did the intercontinental title. Both could be used like stepping stones as Superstars ascend to the main event scene, yet somehow both feel about on par with the 24/7 title despite their prestigious history.

Things aren't much better on the women's side. Raw women's champion Bianca Belair has a fun feud set up with the likes of Asuka, at least. But Ronda Rousey's flimsy reign lacks notable challengers and general interest after she lost during her first chance at the title in a middling feud with Charlotte Flair, only to win it later. 

Keep in mind things are so-so enough around both women's top titles that WWE's speculated plan was to ignore the tag titles on Banks and Naomi outright in order to freshen those feuds and titles scenes up. 

Even the men's tag title scene now is one big question mark, with The Usos holding both the Raw and SmackDown belts. There's obviously an attempt at a storyline there alongside Reigns, but it isn't helping the rest of the division much. 

One can begin to understand why Banks and Naomi might have been frustrated with the idea of not defending their titles for months on end. The Boss was there at the beginning when the belts were created in early 2019, and her hope to win them at 'Mania this year and actually defend them made sense.

Having them be little more than props on the way to the ring for solo matches, cheapening the number of days they were champions in the record books in the process, only made the outlook worse. 

What's frustrating from a fan perspective is it doesn't have to be this way. Reigns vs. Lesnar didn't need both titles to feel special and it was understandable to feel WWE didn't have a plan with that angle, anyway—which has seemingly been confirmed because they didn't even unify the titles. 

Not too long ago, major names would actually compete for say, the U.S. title and hold open challenges. The prestigious history of the intercontinental title shouldn't need much of an explanation, either. Heck, a longstanding criticism of WWE tag wrestling has been that it often feels like the company randomly slaps two names into a team when it has nothing else for them to do, just to fill time and fulfill the necessity of actually having tag titles in a wrestling company. 

So the fix? Treat the titles seriously. Have major names gun for non-main event titles. Savvy long-term booking would be nice, but WWE struggling so much with simple storytelling in recent years that even just having champions consistently defend would be nice. It only takes one Kevin Owens debuting against John Cena's open U.S. title challenge (a classic must-see weekly moment WWE would be wise to bring back) to make magic for a moment and the long term. 

WWE doesn't need magic, of course. It needs booking around championships that respects the titles, the Superstars and the fans. They're not just props. And if the Banks-Naomi situation tells us anything, it's that Superstars feel much closer to how the fans feel than they might be permitted to let on publicly. 

This problem does walk closely alongside the general booking and storytelling issue, but it's a simpler fix by making the titles desirable and defended often, with actual placement on cards, especially at the biggest events of the year, no less.