Everyone might be to blame in Arizona. Yes, Kyler Murray has a new contract. Yes, we should all be talking about his five-year, $230.5 million deal with the Arizona Cardinals, but here we are…Talking about some of the fine print.
We are talking about the clause in the deal that requires Kyler Murray to have four hours of “independent study” each week. No, this isn’t some fun research course in college. No, it’s not a free period in high school. It is mandated film studying.
Yes, a fourth-year NFL quarterback must have his team hold his hand and force him to do his homework, and it is embarrassing and pathetic that it has to be required.
Guys like Russell Wilson and Peyton Manning have entire theaters in their houses to study film. Perhaps Kyler needs a setup like that.
He has to have some sort of setup. I mean, he is a member of the Esports team FaZe Clan. Maybe he is like every middle school and high school kid. Maybe he spends too much time on his Xbox or his PS5, and maybe he plays too much Fortnite.
The fact that this is public now is a terrible look for him. He shouldn’t be doing four hours of film study each week. He should be doing four times four hours of film study.
After all, Pat McAfee talked about on his show yesterday that he once asked Peyton Manning how much film he watched each week, and Peyton said “around 20 hours” of film. This clause asks for the absolute bare minimum, and if Kyler cannot meet that requirement, he loses money on his contract.
This is somehow just as bad of a look for the Cardinals…
First off, who the heck leaked this clause to the media? And Why? This makes no one look good. It makes Kyler Murray look lazy and uncommitted, and it makes the Cardinals look like glorified babysitters.
Why would you hand $230 million to a guy who has to have his hand held to put in the work to be successful?
The argument is that Kyler does the film study anyway. Really? Then why the hell is it in the contract? This is eerily similar to the infamous story about the historic bust Jamarcus Russell.
The alleged story was that the Raiders thought Russell was not watching film, so they tested him. They gave him a blank DVD label “blitz packages” on their upcoming opponent. The next day, they asked Jamarcus about the film, and he lied about having watched it.
My question is, how does this affect the locker room? You are telling me that a locker room with J.J. Watt, one of the hardest workers in the history of professional football, is okay with the appearance that their quarterback has been cutting corners and skimping on film study? That would not sit right with me. The face of the franchise cannot have his work ethic in the crosshairs like this.
If his work ethic is legitimately an issue, then the team leaders must sit him down and set him straight. Someone in the front office has to be fired. You are handing over $46 million per year to someone that you cannot rely on to do his preparation work for each game. In every fashion, this is not good for Arizona.
Finally, today, Kyler took the podium to speak to the media and was asked about his “independent study.” He essentially blamed the media for making it a story. He said it was “embarrassing” to question his work ethic. He cited his success to this point, but that’s the thing…His numbers have been great, and the wins stack up early each season.
The issue is that the team collapses as the season progresses. In 2019, the Cardinals started 3-3-1 before finishing 2-7 down the stretch. In 2020, they started 6-3 before limping home with a 2-5 in the back half of the year. Last year, the Cardinals began 7-0 and were 10-2 before cratering with an abysmal 1-5 stretch, including a playoff loss, to finish the season.
Maybe, just maybe, the young quarterback is getting figured out by opposing defenses each year. Maybe he is not putting in the proper preparation to overcome it. Maybe that is why the Cardinals put this horribly embarrassing clause in the contract.
Maybe everyone involved should understand how dysfunctional this relationship looks. Maybe Kyler should quit looking at the media to blame and start looking at himself and whoever put the clause in his deal.
Maybe this lights a fire under Murray, and he balls out and shuts everyone up. I doubt it, but it remains to be seen.