Arizona Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury is hopeful wide receiver Marquise "Hollywood" Brown will be with the team for the long haul.

While speaking to reporters this week, Kingsbury said the following regarding Brown's contract status: "Yeah, we'd love to get [an extension] done. Hollywood is a guy that we see as a long-term answer."

Arizona acquired Brown on the first night of the 2022 NFL draft in April, sending the 23rd overall pick in the draft to the Baltimore Ravens for Brown and a third-rounder.

While the Cards have already exercised the fifth-year option in Brown's contract for 2023, a new long-term deal before the 2022 campaign starts would alleviate a lot of pressure for both sides.

Baltimore originally selected Brown with the No. 25 overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft, and he was the team's top wideout during his three-year tenure, although the Ravens' offense hasn't been overly kind to wide receivers with Lamar Jackson at quarterback.

Since the trade to Arizona, Brown has opened up about why he wanted out of Baltimore, saying that while he enjoyed playing with Jackson, "the system wasn't for me, personally."

In terms of volume, Brown had his best NFL season in 2021 with career highs in targets (146), receptions (91) and receiving yardage (1,008). His six touchdowns were a career low, however, as was his yards-per-catch average of 11.1.

Brown was forced into running a lot of shorter routes in Baltimore's offense, but the prevailing thought is that he will return to being a downfield threat in the high-powered Cardinals offense led by quarterback Kyler Murray.

The acquisition of Brown came at an ideal time for the Cards, as they lost Christian Kirk to the Jacksonville Jaguars in free agency and No. 1 receiver DeAndre Hopkins will be suspended for the first six games of the 2022 campaign for violating the NFL's performance-enhancing drugs policy.

That means Brown will likely be Murray's top target for the first six weeks of the season with receivers A.J. Green and Rondale Moore, as well as tight Zach Ertz, also playing pivotal roles.

If a long-term deal isn't reached before the 2022 season, a hot start to the year as the No. 1 wideout would perhaps raise Hollywood's stock even more.

In the midst of a contract dispute between the Arizona Cardinals and star quarterback Kyler Murray, head coach Kliff Kingsbury is hoping that the two sides can come to an agreement sooner rather than later.

"I’m praying before training camp," Kingsbury told reporters on Tuesday when asked about a potential contract extension for Murray. Kingsbury added that he is unsure what the 24-year-old might do if he doesn't get a new deal.

Murray is in attendance for Arizona's mandatory minicamp this week and he participated in Tuesday's practice. He had also been present for some of the team's voluntary OTAs within the past few weeks, so he isn't letting his desire for a new contract affect his work on the field.

At the start of the 2022 offseason, there was some speculation that Murray was unhappy with his current contract. He confirmed those theories by putting out a statement through his agent, Erik Burkhardt, expressing his intentions to secure a long-term extension.

Cardinals general manger Steve Keim said last month during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show that he was optimistic a deal would eventually get done.

"I just think it's a timing thing," Keim said. "Anyone who has done it before has done it anywhere from July to September. No different for us. We know he is under contract for another year and also the fifth-year option [in 2023]. He is our future. We feel that strongly. I feel like we'll be able to get something done this summer."

Entering his fourth NFL season, Murray is set to make a maximum of $11.4 million on his current deal, per Spotrac. He is coming off his second straight Pro Bowl selection, so the Cardinals will surely want to keep him happy. As long as Murray is under center, Arizona can remain a contender in the NFC for years to come.

Marquise Brown is poised for a big year with the Arizona Cardinals after teaming back up with quarterback Kyler Murray.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler broke down their impact on the Cardinals' passing attack Sunday on SportsCenter:

The Cardinals are thrilled with the chemistry that they do have. They've already worked together some this offseason. They had 1,300-plus yards together in their last season at Oklahoma. And in fact, I'm told the Cardinals aren't really even worried about these two as much as assimilating Rondale Moore, their second-year receiver, into a bigger role because he's going to take over some of that Christian Kirk inside-outside play that they had last year now that Kirk is in Jacksonville.

But, this is a player that has a bit to prove leaguewide. You talk to teams, they haven't always felt that he's like a top-top guy. Sometimes they question his toughness in the past. But he's coming off a pretty good year in Baltimore. He plans to use Arizona as a springboard to become that upper-echelon player and it could result in a contract extension at some point with the Cardinals. I think they're open to that.

The Cardinals acquired Brown in a draft-night trade, adding the receiver and a third-round pick while sending the No. 23 overall pick to the Baltimore Ravens. The deal became even more important after star receiver DeAndre Hopkins was suspended for six games for violating the policy on performance-enhancing drugs.

After Kirk left in free agency, few proven options are on the roster besides A.J. Green.

It could put Brown in a key role in 2022, especially early in the season.

The 25-year-old already has plenty of experience playing with Murray, thriving as the No. 1 option for Oklahoma in 2018 alongside CeeDee Lamb. It helped the Hollywood, Florida, native become a first-round pick in 2019, emerging as a reliable weapon for Lamar Jackson.

Brown set career highs in 2021 with 91 catches and 1,008 receiving yards, adding six touchdowns with the Ravens.

He still ranks just 78th among receivers with a $2.1 million cap hit in 2022, per Spotrac. Though he will make $13.4 million in 2023 from his fifth-year option, Brown will hope a big year leads to a long-term deal.

Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury joked he was unsuccessful in trying to break up the Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams while attending Sean McVay's wedding.

Kingsbury explained Thursday he tried to convince defensive tackle Aaron Donald to retire and urged wide receiver Cooper Kupp to embark on a long-term holdout:

Both Donald and Kupp proceeded to sign new contracts as McVay and Co. get ready to open their title defense in September.

The NFC West sent three teams to the playoffs last season, the Rams, Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers, and it figures to remain one of the NFL's most competitive divisions in 2022.

Los Angeles' quest to repeat would have taken a serious hit if either Donald, a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, or Kupp, the 2021 Offensive Player of the Year, weren't on the field to open the new campaign.

The Rams avoided that fate, though it required significant financial commitments.

Donald, who'd confirmed retirement was an option if an agreement wasn't reached, signed a three-year, $95 million contract, while Kupp inked a three-year, $80.1 million deal.

L.A. couldn't retain every member of its championship squad—linebacker Von Miller going to the Buffalo Bills and cornerback Darious Williams joining the Jacksonville Jaguars headlined the free-agent departures—but the Rams kept a vast majority of their key contributors.

While they're squarely in the championship conversation once again to open 2022, the Cardinals are trying to take the next step toward that discussion after going 11-6 to end a five-year playoff drought last season. They were knocked out in the opening round of the playoffs by the Rams, though.

The Cards' main offseason splash was acquiring wide receiver Marquise "Hollywood" Brown to give quarterback Kyler Murray another weapon on the outside.

DeAndre Hopkins will miss the first six games of the season after being suspended for a violation of the NFL's performance-enhancing drug policy. Once he returns, Arizona should feature one of the league's deepest pass-catching groups with Hopkins, Brown, A.J. Green, Rondale Moore and tight end Zach Ertz.

Positive strides from the defense, which ranked 11th in yards allowed per game (329.2) last season, would also bolster the Cardinals' chances of keeping pace with the Rams.

Ultimately, Kingsbury will hope his team's on-field efforts are more productive than his admittedly half-hearted attempts to weaken the Rams' roster.

Marquise Brown saw the rise of the wide receiver market and requested a move that could pay off in 2023.

Quietly, Brown asked for a trade, and the Baltimore Ravens accommodated him, dealing the fourth-year pro along with a third-round pick to the Arizona Cardinals on Day 1 of the 2022 draft in exchange for the No. 23 overall pick. On the next day, the Cardinals picked up the fifth-year option on his contract.

Brown appeared on the I Am Athlete podcast and confirmed his desire to go elsewhere dated back a couple of years (h/t NFL.com's Grant Gordon):

"It was just something, my happiness. I talked to Lamar about it after my second year. And you know, then after my third year, leading up to the end of the season, he wasn't playing. I let him know again, ya bro, I can't do it. It's not really on Lamar. I love Lamar. It was just, you know, it's just the system wasn't for me personally. I love all my teammates. I love the guys, but it was just something I had to think about for myself."

Brown probably took note of his potential value on the market and made a business decision. Though he recorded career highs in catches (91) and receiving yards (1,008) last season, the Ravens employ a run-heavy scheme under offensive coordinator Greg Roman. With quarterback Lamar Jackson involved in the ground attack, Baltimore has ranked in the top three in rush attempts for each of the last three seasons.

Though the Cardinals have ranked sixth and seventh in total carries for the 2020 and 2021 campaigns, respectively, quarterback Kyler Murray hasn't logged more than 133 rush attempts since entering the league in 2019. That happens to be Jackson's lowest single-season total in four years as a pro.

Furthermore, Brown has an established connection with Murray from their 2018 campaign at Oklahoma. The former racked up 75 catches for 1,318 yards and 10 touchdowns while the latter threw for 4,361 yards, 42 touchdowns and only seven interceptions as the 2018 Heisman Trophy winner.

In case you forgot, Murray and Brown had some electric hookups at the collegiate level. Nate Feken of KFOR in Oklahoma City put together a highlight reel that illustrates some of the magic between the former Sooners:

Murray targeted Brown all over the field—on short slants, quick outs, inside the numbers and deep downfield. Clearly, they forged a strong rapport, a bond that doesn't just fade in four years. Keep in mind that the pair had spent offseasons working out together, and this year, Brown kept the trade discussions a secret.

Ultimately, Murray will help his college buddy and teammate get paid a handsome sum—whether it's the Cardinals or another team that's willing to acquire and then sign Brown to a big-money extension.

Brown could easily top his catch and receiving yard totals from the previous season. He'll likely open the 2022 campaign as the Cardinals' No. 1 wideout while DeAndre Hopkins serves a six-game suspension for violating the league's performance-enhancing drug policy.

A.J. Green acknowledged he has to work on his communication with Murray to strengthen their chemistry, and fellow wide receiver Rondale Moore will try to make strides in his second season after hauling in 54 passes for 435 yards and one touchdown as a rookie.

Tight end Zach Ertz, whom the Cardinals acquired from the Philadelphia Eagles last October, has only played 11 games with Murray. Rookie tight end Trey McBride has to establish himself within the offense.

Brown and Murray played together as backups before they became starters at Oklahoma, which underscores the depth of their on-field relationship.

"In college, you go through more with your quarterback than in the NFL," Brown told reporters. "Me and Kyler, we got in together, we were on the 'B' squad against the starting defense [at Oklahoma] to all the way to both of us playing."

Brown should jump off to a quick start while Hopkins serves his suspension, though the three-time All-Pro's return won't necessarily hurt the former's production.

With or without the star receiver on the field, Brown seems confident in his playmaking ability. While talking to reporters a week after the draft, he emphasized quality over quantity in terms of targets.

"In college, I had guys around me, [Cowboys wide receiver] CeeDee Lamb. I've played with [Ravens tight end] Mark Andrews. It's not about the targets, it's about what type of targets. ... I've been in an offense where I've been getting all the attention, I've been getting the cloud coverages. I'm excited to get some one-on-one matchups and spread the field out."

In 2017, with Baker Mayfield primarily under center, Brown led Oklahoma in receiving yards (1,095) over Lamb (807) and Andrews (958) as the program's most explosive playmaker that year, averaging 19.2 yards per catch.

In Baltimore, we didn't see Brown make splashy plays with regularity. He averaged 12.1 yards per reception through his first three seasons. Murray and Brown can go back to stretching defenses over the top as they did at Oklahoma, which would allow the 25-year-old wideout to rack up gaudy numbers while his signal-caller spreads the ball among a plethora of talented pass-catchers.

If Brown lights up defenses in the upcoming campaign, how much could he bank next offseason?

The Athletic's Jeff Howe believes Brown could surge to the top of the market:

"Tyreek Hill (four-year, $120 million extension), Davante Adams (five years, $140 million) and A.J. Brown (four-year, $100 million extension) recently signed massive deals, though the backloaded money inflated the sticker prices. Deebo Samuel and DK Metcalf will likely eventually get similar pacts to strengthen the position’s market value. That means Marquise Brown is in line to be paid like one of the best receivers in the NFL."

Assuming Samuel and Metcalf sign extensions worth around $25 million annually, Brown can start negotiations at four years, $100 million following a season in which he reaches career highs across multiple receiving categories. Brown could also command north of $42 million in guarantees, which would currently land him on the low end of the top 10 among wideouts in guaranteed compensation, per Over The Cap.

If Murray signs a massive extension this offseason, he'll likely have some influence over what happens with Brown in 2023. With that said, the Cardinals probably wouldn't flip a first-round pick for a one-year rental unless they don't get enough return on their investment.

With a strong possibility that Murray rekindles an aerial bond with his former college teammate, Brown will reap the benefits and take it all the way to the bank.

Maurice Moton covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @MoeMoton.

Arizona Cardinals defensive end J.J. Watt announced Thursday that he and his wife, National Women's Soccer League player Kealia Ohai Watt, are expecting their first child together.

Watt made the announcement with a collection of photos of him and Ohai on Twitter:

Ohai and Watt began dating in 2016, got engaged in 2019 and married each other in 2020. Both Watt and Ohai are now set to become parents for the first time.

Watt, 33, is an 11-year NFL veteran who spent the first 10 years of his career with the Houston Texans before signing with the Cards last offseason.

With five Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro selections, as well as three NFL Defensive Player of the Year Awards and 102 career sacks, Watt is likely a future Pro Football Hall of Famer.

Watt is looking to bounce back in 2022 after he was limited to just seven games because of a shoulder injury last season.

The 30-year-old Ohai has been a professional soccer player since 2014 after starring collegiately at North Carolina.

She played for the Houston Dash from 2014-19 before getting traded to the Chicago Red Stars, her current team.

Ohai has made three career appearances for the United States women's national team and won a FIFA World Cup with the under-20 team in 2012. She also won the NCAA Division I national championship that year.

Kyler Murray reported to the Arizona Cardinals' organized team activities on Wednesday and is expected to be on the practice field for the first time this offseason with the team, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Murray did not attend the team's OTAs last week.

"As a coach, you want to have these guys here all the time but it's not how the rules are set up," Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury told reporters last week. "Different guys handle it different ways."

OTAs are non-mandatory.

While the Cardinals and Murray have had an interesting offseason, to say the least—mostly centered on Murray's desire for a long-term contract extension—the two sides will remain joined at the hip at least through the 2022 season, and likely in 2023 as well after the Cardinals picked up his $29.7 million fifth-year option.

General manager Steve Keim has maintained throughout the offseason that Murray isn't going anywhere.

"Nothing has changed in terms of him being our long-term and short-term quarterback," he told reporters last month.

And Murray has echoed the desire to maintain the relationship going forward:

The 24-year-old threw for 3,787 yards, 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 14 games last season, completing 69.2 percent of his passes. He also rushed for 423 yards and five scores, remaining one of the NFL's most dangerous two-way threats.

The Cardinals went 11-6 last year and ended a five-year playoff drought, though losing in the Wild Card Round to the Los Angeles Rams was a major disappointment after the team started the season 7-0. Nonetheless, Murray had another strong campaign and has led the Cardinals to an improved record from the year prior in each of his three seasons.

The two-time Pro Bowler reporting for the second week of non-mandatory OTAs is another good sign that all is well in Arizona, even with Schefter reporting last week that "all continues to remain quiet on his contract front, for now."

Running back Darrel Williams has found a new home.

The Arizona Cardinals announced on Tuesday that they signed Williams to a one-year deal. The fifth-year veteran had spent the first four years of his NFL career with the Kansas City Chiefs.

To make room on the roster for Williams, the Cardinals released running back Jaylen Samuels.

After Chiefs starting running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire was forced to miss seven games last season due to injury, Williams finished as Kansas City's leading rusher in an offense centered around star quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the passing attack. Williams posted career-highs of 144 carries for 558 yards and six touchdowns and 47 receptions for 452 yards and two more scores.

Williams fits a major need for Arizona as a backup behind starter James Conner, especially after the offseason departure of free agent Chase Edmonds. The only other running backs on the Cardinals roster are Eno Benjamin and Keaontay Ingram. Benjamin saw limited action last season, and Ingram was selected in the sixth round of this year's NFL draft.

Conner is coming off a stellar 2021 season in which he earned his second career trip to the Pro Bowl. In his first year with Arizona, he ran for 752 yards on 202 carries and tied for second in the NFL with 15 rushing touchdowns. The 27-year-old was rewarded with a three-year contract extension in March.

The Cardinals went 11-6 last season and finished second in the NFC West. Arizona's season came to an end with a loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the Wild Card round.

Mercedes Andrea Palacios also died in the fatal car crash that took the life of Arizona Cardinals cornerback Jeff Gladney, the Dallas County Sheriff's Department told TMZ Sports Tuesday. Palacios, who was 26 years old, reportedly had been dating Gladney.

According to police, Gladney and Palacios were found dead in a white overturned vehicle at 2:30 a.m. on Monday morning. Though it is unknown how fast the driver was going, police said the vehicle was "speeding when it clipped a second vehicle from behind at the time of the crash." Police said the two occupants of the other vehicle were unharmed.

Gladney was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings with the No. 31 overall pick in 2020. He had signed with the Cardinals this past March.

As a rookie, Gladney recorded 81 total tackles, three passes defended and a forced fumble. He was released by Minnesota prior to the 2021 season following his indictment on a felony domestic assault charge. Gladney was found not guilty in March, but he sat out the entire year as no team signed him amid his legal situation.

The Cardinals released a statement addressing Gladney's death, saying, "We are devastated to learn of Jeff Gladney's passing. Our hearts go out to his family, friends and all who are mourning this tremendous loss."

Gladney is survived by an infant son he had from a previous relationship.