Ever since going down with a foot injury in Week 5, Kyler Murray’s relationship with the Cardinals has been strained. With butting heads, the connection between the two sides was falling apart.
Jacoby Brissett started the remainder of the season for the Cardinals, and it was abundantly clear that the offense was much more in synch with him at the helm, leading many to believe that the team would move off of Murray during the offseason.
With the offseason more than underway, it has been vital for Arizona's upper management to keep in touch with the disgruntled Murray. According to ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss, this was the case.
"Yeah, I've always had a good dialogue with Kyler," Ossenfort said. "And I'd say [last season] wasn't up to what Kyler wanted. It wasn't up to what any of us wanted as a season as a whole.” – Monti Ossenfort
Despite what appeared to be good terms, Murray clarified that this was not the case and that the two parties had not been keeping in touch.
Reports are developing that Ossenfort and Murray have not spoken since the season’s end, and it comes along with the fact that Arizona needs to decide on his future before the start of the new league year. Weinfuss put that into perspective.
“The Cardinals are about three weeks from needing to make a decision on whether Murray will be their quarterback in 2026. If Murray is on the active roster on the fifth day of the league year, he's due a guaranteed roster bonus for 2027 of $19.5 million.” – Josh Weinfuss
The Cardinals are not in the business of taking on unnecessary money, especially when rebuilding their roster and saving up to extend deserving players.
Arizona needs to get on the same page as Murray to prepare for the future. If not, the financial situation could get ugly fast.