5 big mistakes that doomed the Arizona Cardinals in 2022

The Arizona Cardinals finished 4-13 in 2022, and much of it was a testament to the following five mistakes the old regime made.

The 2022 season was vintage Arizona Cardinals. Vintage as in, the franchise that only knows how to lose, lose, and lose some more. But during the 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s, it’s safe to say the Redbirds at least had a few good years sprinkled between the bad ones.

As for 2022, the ill-fated season let Cardinals fans party like they were between 1948 and 1997 – the 50 seasons their team went without winning a single playoff game.

So here we are, with the franchise once again at crossroads. But what made 2022 so unbelievably bad? So bad, that the general manager re-signed and they fired their coach just months after they signed lucrative extensions? Well, let’s go exploring, starting with the single biggest failure.

1 – Kyler Murray’s contract extension

Okay, so here you have a quarterback who never won anything big at the NFL level, has leadership issues, a penchant for pointing fingers, and work ethic issues. And you thought it was a good idea to hand him a $230.5 million contract? Why?

Listen, Murray is no bust, but he’s also shown that he’s no more accomplished than Sam Bradford at that point in his career. And he rewarded you with subpar play, shouting matches on the sidelines, and social media jabs at former teammates.

And there was that little inclusion of a study clause that you later revoked. That clause told us everything we needed to know. If Murray had more of a work ethic, you never would’ve put it in there. Overall, we as fans should’ve known that all the controversy surrounding Murray was the first red flag that this was going to be an ill-fated season.