We can officially add Kyler Murray to the list of quarterbacks sitting out of voluntary workouts.
Murray and many of his fellow veteran Cardinals will not participate in Arizona's offseason conditioning program and will instead train on their own, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported, per a source. The decision to do so has been communicated to the team as the plan for several weeks, per Rapoport.
No one should be surprised by Murray's absence, which came with advance warning. It is interesting that a number of his veteran teammates are not attending, but it's also not unusual to see a collection of established players prefer to train on their own instead of traveling to the team facility in the offseason.
Murray's absence remains notable, of course, because of the peaks and valleys already traveled by this offseason's News Cycle Express. Murray, his agent and the Cardinals have already provided the locomotive with enough fuel to span the nation, starting with Murray scrubbing his Instagram of all Cardinals content before he and the team eventually reconciled and focused on proceeding forward.
The issue with moving forward is, of course, related to Murray's compensation. Murray's agent, Erik Burkhardt, essentially threw down the gauntlet when he publicly stated it was "up to the Cardinals to decide if they prioritize" signing Murray to a long-term extension in late February. The leverage plays continued last week -- nearly two months later -- when NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported Murray is not expected to play in 2022 without a new contract.
Evidently, there hasn't been enough movement on the matter to satisfy Murray's desires.
The Cardinals have their own reasons for playing this cautiously. At his best, Murray is a dazzling, thrilling player who can singlehandedly change a game. The Cardinals were cruising to victories through the majority of 2021 because of Murray, but as he did in 2020, when adversity struck, Murray didn't handle it well. By the time the clock was ticking down on their blowout loss to the Rams on Super Wild Card Weekend, few were shocked by the result.
A.J. Green, a veteran who just re-signed with the Cardinals after his first season in Arizona, admitted he and Murray didn't have great chemistry. The positive spin was that Green admitted he should make an effort to communicate with Murray, and saw "a lot of room (for growth)" -- but it's also a two-way street.
Missing April workouts won't hurt anyone. These are professionals who will largely prepare accordingly.
J.J. Watt is keenly aware of the situation, saying Tuesday, "All I need him to be here for is the first game of the season."
But unlike the situations in Cleveland (Baker Mayfield has no reason to work out with the Browns as he awaits his departure) and San Francisco (Jimmy Garoppolo may or may not be back and is recovering from shoulder surgery), the Cardinals don't have a successor for Murray. He is the franchise. And until this is resolved, it will continue to be a noteworthy topic -- and perhaps a valid reason for concern.
