Is Kyler Murray the answer at QB for next year and beyond?

[Chopper0080]

No, he isn't the answer to anything that comes down to winning at the NFL level. Maybe he could be built around but not when he costs 45 mil. His short comings are just too tough to overcome in the NFL. Best case scenario is Gannon can justify not being fired after another bad 2024 season and heading into an off-season where they eat a bunch of dead money to get rid of Kyler and have to give up assets to try and trade up for the 3rd best QB in the draft.

 

[DVontel]

No, he isn't the answer to anything that comes down to winning at the NFL level. Maybe he could be built around but not when he costs 45 mil. His short comings are just too tough to overcome in the NFL. Best case scenario is Gannon can justify not being fired after another bad 2024 season and heading into an off-season where they eat a bunch of dead money to get rid of Kyler and have to give up assets to try and trade up for the 3rd best QB in the draft.

If we have to trade up to get the 3rd best QB then that pretty much tells me we must have had a massive improvement next season.

 

[The6]

What a blunder drafting this guy and later giving him all that money. Unbelievable and inexcusable.

 

[BigRedMO]

Hello all,



I am a long time reader of the posts on this board who has not posted in years. I quit posting because I got tired of arguing with complete strangers whose anonymity allowed them to say things they would never say to my face. It also seemed pointless because the Cardinals will always be the Cardinals. Bidwill will never allow them to operate like successful NFL organizations. I keep hoping.



I am from MO and became a fan of the Cardinals when aged no more than 10 years old when Coryell was the head coach. It teased me with idea that Cardinals were on of the elite organizations of the NFL. Despite the comments like Bidwill will never allow uniforms to be like they were in St. Louis because Bidwill associates them with losing does not reconcile with the fact that Cardinals win percentage was better in STL than either Chicago or Arizona. At least that is what I have read. I have never done the math.



I see all this Murray criticism during games but as soon as game is over everyone says Murray is the Cardinals QB. This irrational stance is so frustrating and what has driven me to post. I know the Bidwill mind set and his place within NFL power structure. When people were saying Sean Payton was going to be hired I laughed. I posted on You Tube podcasts how ridiculous the idea was when one considered the people since Coryell that had been hired. I knew it would be a college head coach or an NFL coordinator. Payton would not work for Bidwill and no NFL coaches relish the idea of coaching Murray when that position has more to do with success or failure than any other position.



There is no way that Murray is handed the job next year without a competition like what happened with Leinert and Warner. All these defenses of Murray’s basic mechanics ignore the fact that he is not a rookie. He is a veteran. There will be a competition or there will be no one in the seats but fans of other team. I am hoping it will be with Drake Maye. Fear is the biggest motivator. I am hoping that a competition with Maye will drive Murray to an all out effort to succeed. If that happens then Cardinals have two QBs and they can trade one. Bidwill does not have deep pockets. Wealth is not liquidity. His greatest fear is that the fans will abandon the Cardinals. All the 49er fans in the seats is what keeps Bidwill up at night. If he loses the fan base he will not get a new stadium and will be moving the franchise again. Bidwill will not tolerate indifference to his team by ticket buyers. There will be a competition for the job next year.



The position of QB is the only position that can transform a team by itself. The Chiefs were no more than an average team with Alex Smith at QB. There are no more 2-3 year rebuilds. A head coach and GM has to win now. The clock starts the day they are hired. One more year of Murray and there will be no Cardinals fans in the seats. Two years from now the GM and head coach will be fired if the team is not in the playoffs. They will be fired next year if picking in top five again. Teams picking in the top five are there barring trades because their QB isnt cutting it. Any pick in top five not a QB is a wasted pick and team should move down. Larry Fitzgerald won no Super Bowls. Mahomes has Chiefs competing for number one seed with terrible receivers except Kelce. Kurt Warrner dragged a collapsing team to a Super Bowl because he willed it. His will to win was stronger that Bidwill’s failed culture. The NFL is designed for the team with best QB to win the Super Bowl. The surest route to that QB is the draft. Relying on free agents means taking a QB that another team has written off. There is no waiting a year to address QB of the future. If drafting in top five the opportunity to find a franchise QB cant be ignored because you don’t know when you will be drafting there again.



Lastly, I know that fans of college football like to see their alumni QB do well and become fans of a team only because their alum is the QB. Those fans are blinded by their idolatry of their alum. I discount their opinions. They are not remotely objective. They will disappear as soon as their QB is gone. It annoys me to see icons of another football team besides the Cardinals. The Cardinals are my only football allegiance.

 

[kerouac9]

If we have to trade up to get the 3rd best QB then that pretty much tells me we must have had a massive improvement next season.

Dunno. If you have to trade up from 12 to 6.

 

[Stout]

Dude imagine living through the last eight seasons, watching BA win a ‘chip, and still saying this.

Yes. We’re running against light boxes because we’re down by two scores.

You see it all the times where a coach goes flat with a team and can't stay any longer, then go elsewhere and have success. You're better than that, K9.

 

[kerouac9]

You see it all the times where a coach goes flat with a team and can't stay any longer, then go elsewhere and have success. You're better than that, K9.

Hated BA getting shoved out the door at the time and still do. Being Big Mad over loyalty to a special teams coach when you’re winning games with Blaine Gabbert is deranged thinking.

 

[Stout]

That’s the problem with just punting on an entire season. This year accomplished absolutely nothing. We have no more answers about the future going into next season then we had going into this one.

100 percent on Monti, too. This is his mess.

Tell me again, board, how there were literally no FAs that could have possibly helped this team rebuild and how it was totally smart not to sign anyone. What a successful "evaluation" season Monti has had.

Oh, and in case ya missed it:

 

[slanidrac16]

Hello all,



I am a long time reader of the posts on this board who has not posted in years. I quit posting because I got tired of arguing with complete strangers whose anonymity allowed them to say things they would never say to my face. It also seemed pointless because the Cardinals will always be the Cardinals. Bidwill will never allow them to operate like successful NFL organizations. I keep hoping.



I am from MO and became a fan of the Cardinals when aged no more than 10 years old when Coryell was the head coach. It teased me with idea that Cardinals were on of the elite organizations of the NFL. Despite the comments like Bidwill will never allow uniforms to be like they were in St. Louis because Bidwill associates them with losing does not reconcile with the fact that Cardinals win percentage was better in STL than either Chicago or Arizona. At least that is what I have read. I have never done the math.



I see all this Murray criticism during games but as soon as game is over everyone says Murray is the Cardinals QB. This irrational stance is so frustrating and what has driven me to post. I know the Bidwill mind set and his place within NFL power structure. When people were saying Sean Payton was going to be hired I laughed. I posted on You Tube podcasts how ridiculous the idea was when one considered the people since Coryell that had been hired. I knew it would be a college head coach or an NFL coordinator. Payton would not work for Bidwill and no NFL coaches relish the idea of coaching Murray when that position has more to do with success or failure than any other position.



There is no way that Murray is handed the job next year without a competition like what happened with Leinert and Warner. All these defenses of Murray’s basic mechanics ignore the fact that he is not a rookie. He is a veteran. There will be a competition or there will be no one in the seats but fans of other team. I am hoping it will be with Drake Maye. Fear is the biggest motivator. I am hoping that a competition with Maye will drive Murray to an all out effort to succeed. If that happens then Cardinals have two QBs and they can trade one. Bidwill does not have deep pockets. Wealth is not liquidity. His greatest fear is that the fans will abandon the Cardinals. All the 49er fans in the seats is what keeps Bidwill up at night. If he loses the fan base he will not get a new stadium and will be moving the franchise again. Bidwill will not tolerate indifference to his team by ticket buyers. There will be a competition for the job next year.



The position of QB is the only position that can transform a team by itself. The Chiefs were no more than an average team with Alex Smith at QB. There are no more 2-3 year rebuilds. A head coach and GM has to win now. The clock starts the day they are hired. One more year of Murray and there will be no Cardinals fans in the seats. Two years from now the GM and head coach will be fired if the team is not in the playoffs. They will be fired next year if picking in top five again. Teams picking in the top five are there barring trades because their QB isnt cutting it. Any pick in top five not a QB is a wasted pick and team should move down. Larry Fitzgerald won no Super Bowls. Mahomes has Chiefs competing for number one seed with terrible receivers except Kelce. Kurt Warrner dragged a collapsing team to a Super Bowl because he willed it. His will to win was stronger that Bidwill’s failed culture. The NFL is designed for the team with best QB to win the Super Bowl. The surest route to that QB is the draft. Relying on free agents means taking a QB that another team has written off. There is no waiting a year to address QB of the future. If drafting in top five the opportunity to find a franchise QB cant be ignored because you don’t know when you will be drafting there again.



Lastly, I know that fans of college football like to see their alumni QB do well and become fans of a team only because their alum is the QB. Those fans are blinded by their idolatry of their alum. I discount their opinions. They are not remotely objective. They will disappear as soon as their QB is gone. It annoys me to see icons of another football team besides the Cardinals. The Cardinals are my only football allegiance.

Nice post BRM.

I mentioned how maybe the Cards should draft a guy this year with a second or third round pick which was mostly met with opposition.

I am so confused with this Qb situation. At times ( which seem most of the time) I think Kyler just ain’t the guy. I think back at the “ good times” and think maybe I’m wrong. Then I look at the receiving core and think what the hell. Then I see him standing in the pocket like a nervous Nelly.

MO tore this team down to the bare bones. He has built up draft picks and cap space. What is his vision? Would he use that first pick on a Qb even if he couldn’t move Kyler? Would that be terrible? Would a rookie QB truly be given a shot to start? Would a Qb competion divide the team?

Could we surround a rookie QB with a decent supporting cast? Would we get a guy that performed like Stroud or like Bryce Young?

If we were to draft a qb I think I’d want Kyler gone. What could we get for Kyler and how does that affect our cap situation in 2024 and 2025?

It’s going to be a very interesting, exciting, aggravating and crazy off season.

 

[Chopper0080]

Hello all,



I am a long time reader of the posts on this board who has not posted in years. I quit posting because I got tired of arguing with complete strangers whose anonymity allowed them to say things they would never say to my face. It also seemed pointless because the Cardinals will always be the Cardinals. Bidwill will never allow them to operate like successful NFL organizations. I keep hoping.



I am from MO and became a fan of the Cardinals when aged no more than 10 years old when Coryell was the head coach. It teased me with idea that Cardinals were on of the elite organizations of the NFL. Despite the comments like Bidwill will never allow uniforms to be like they were in St. Louis because Bidwill associates them with losing does not reconcile with the fact that Cardinals win percentage was better in STL than either Chicago or Arizona. At least that is what I have read. I have never done the math.



I see all this Murray criticism during games but as soon as game is over everyone says Murray is the Cardinals QB. This irrational stance is so frustrating and what has driven me to post. I know the Bidwill mind set and his place within NFL power structure. When people were saying Sean Payton was going to be hired I laughed. I posted on You Tube podcasts how ridiculous the idea was when one considered the people since Coryell that had been hired. I knew it would be a college head coach or an NFL coordinator. Payton would not work for Bidwill and no NFL coaches relish the idea of coaching Murray when that position has more to do with success or failure than any other position.



There is no way that Murray is handed the job next year without a competition like what happened with Leinert and Warner. All these defenses of Murray’s basic mechanics ignore the fact that he is not a rookie. He is a veteran. There will be a competition or there will be no one in the seats but fans of other team. I am hoping it will be with Drake Maye. Fear is the biggest motivator. I am hoping that a competition with Maye will drive Murray to an all out effort to succeed. If that happens then Cardinals have two QBs and they can trade one. Bidwill does not have deep pockets. Wealth is not liquidity. His greatest fear is that the fans will abandon the Cardinals. All the 49er fans in the seats is what keeps Bidwill up at night. If he loses the fan base he will not get a new stadium and will be moving the franchise again. Bidwill will not tolerate indifference to his team by ticket buyers. There will be a competition for the job next year.



The position of QB is the only position that can transform a team by itself. The Chiefs were no more than an average team with Alex Smith at QB. There are no more 2-3 year rebuilds. A head coach and GM has to win now. The clock starts the day they are hired. One more year of Murray and there will be no Cardinals fans in the seats. Two years from now the GM and head coach will be fired if the team is not in the playoffs. They will be fired next year if picking in top five again. Teams picking in the top five are there barring trades because their QB isnt cutting it. Any pick in top five not a QB is a wasted pick and team should move down. Larry Fitzgerald won no Super Bowls. Mahomes has Chiefs competing for number one seed with terrible receivers except Kelce. Kurt Warrner dragged a collapsing team to a Super Bowl because he willed it. His will to win was stronger that Bidwill’s failed culture. The NFL is designed for the team with best QB to win the Super Bowl. The surest route to that QB is the draft. Relying on free agents means taking a QB that another team has written off. There is no waiting a year to address QB of the future. If drafting in top five the opportunity to find a franchise QB cant be ignored because you don’t know when you will be drafting there again.



Lastly, I know that fans of college football like to see their alumni QB do well and become fans of a team only because their alum is the QB. Those fans are blinded by their idolatry of their alum. I discount their opinions. They are not remotely objective. They will disappear as soon as their QB is gone. It annoys me to see icons of another football team besides the Cardinals. The Cardinals are my only football allegiance.

 

[GatorAZ]

Kyler will never live up to his contract unless he embraces his legs the way Lamar does, or at least close to it.

 

[DVontel]

Kyler got drafted a talent-deficient team. There’s people that believe Bosa should have been the pick over Kyler. Rosen got traded.

The worst thing that can happen is repeating history with Maye/MHJR/Kyler.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

No one has ever questioned Purdys mental acuity. The fact that you can pick out one throw is more evidence he's not an elite talent.

I watched Brady make that throw 6 times a game for 20 years.

Just like that graphic that was posted last week demonstrated, Jimmy Garapolo posted the exact same numbers over his first 25 starts too. The Shanahan voodoo is tricking you; Purdy is a capable NFL QB being made to look great by an elite supporting cast. Put a Mahomes in this offense and he's scoring 70.

Lol. What a terrible take. It isn’t just that one throw. As that throw happened I realized your take on him is atrocious. That guy would succeed on many other teams. And replacing him with a bunch of other QBs in the nfl wouldn’t make the niners as effective.

And if you’re only argument is that best QB presently playing is better than Purdy, well you’re kinda supporting my argument. Name me 14 other QBs in the nfl at present that would have the niners offense as effective. Good luck.

 

[SoonerLou]

Kyler will never live up to his contract unless he embraces his legs the way Lamar does, or at least close to it.

I dont know what happened after the 2020 season. However, he doesnt seem as dynamic as then. He had an unreal twitch and was just strong enough/stronger get out of tackles and not go down so easy.

Now tbf Lamar isnt the same runner he was in 2019, but that nasty Oline gives him a bit more lanes to run through.

 

[SoonerLou]

Lol. What a terrible take. It isn’t just that one throw. As that throw happened I realized your take on him is atrocious. That guy would succeed on many other teams. And replacing him with a bunch of other QBs in the nfl wouldn’t make the niners as effective.

And if you’re only argument is that best QB presently playing is better than Purdy, well you’re kinda supporting my argument. Name me 14 other QBs in the nfl at present that would have the niners offense as effective. Good luck.

I think Purdy/Shanahan are just as dialed in as any QB/Play Caller I can remember. Not sure Purdy in Arizona is keeping us from drafting Drake Maye. However, he's in the right place at the right time and he's the right guy to lead that franchise. I think the most important thing for Purdy is culture and early success. He's in such a positive environment and being the right fit has helped his confidence quite a bit.

 

[wagon mound 464]

What a blunder drafting this guy and later giving him all that money. Unbelievable and inexcusable.

For sure. Bill B's ******** must be in pain seeing those big check$ go out of the account and seeing a huge mistake was taken.

 

[Dynomite]

The Arizona cardinals have one of the worst rosters in the nfl. 3/4 of the main receivers are under 5’10. Which means if Kyler’s receivers are one on one it’s basically a no throw option. It’s no surprise that McBride has blossomed this year… he’s literally the only option in one on one situations. The oline is not great and even the running back as much a she’s beloved he ain’t a top tier back. I’m truly not sure what you guys think a rookie coming in and playing for this garbage team would do. And that’s just the offense. Defense has its own crappy issues and players. Could probably bring a replica of the Georgia bulldogs and they would out talent this team.

 

[DVontel]

One good thing about that Kyler contract is that we’re basically forced to add blue-chip talent around the team instead of having a new QB coming into a very talent-deficient team….again. I know people are hating Kyler & don’t see it that way, but if there’s a positive, that is one.

 

[Stout]

One good thing about that Kyler contract is that we’re basically forced to add blue-chip talent around the team instead of having a new QB coming into a very talent-deficient team….again. I know people are hating Kyler & don’t see it that way, but if there’s a positive, that is one.

God, I hope we don't actually end up in position to draft a top QB because that would put me in a horrible position opinion-wise. Kyler clearly isn't the guy but, as you say, we're not in great position to get rid of him. And I don't like the QB prospects. Ugh.

 

[slanidrac16]

I think Purdy/Shanahan are just as dialed in as any QB/Play Caller I can remember. Not sure Purdy in Arizona is keeping us from drafting Drake Maye. However, he's in the right place at the right time and he's the right guy to lead that franchise. I think the most important thing for Purdy is culture and early success. He's in such a positive environment and being the right fit has helped his confidence quite a bit.

I think it’s a testament to the 49ers staff. They trade up to get Lance. The draft Purdy in the 7 th round. Within a year they didn’t think twice of dumping Lance and starting Purdy.
The fact they recognized the talent he was and cut bait.

 

[DVontel]

God, I hope we don't actually end up in position to draft a top QB because that would put me in a horrible position opinion-wise. Kyler clearly isn't the guy but, as you say, we're not in great position to get rid of him. And I don't like the QB prospects. Ugh.

I actually like Drake Maye a lot, but he will get done a disservice if we draft him. Coming into a very talent-deficient team expecting to carry this piss-poor franchise from day one. Then, the fanbase will start questioning him “is he good enough?” after he overachieves until we run into a team with much more talent & firepower than us. Now, we’re stuck because we’re not bad enough to draft a blue-chip talent or good enough to be a real contender. I don’t expect Monti have generational drafts because organizations themselves don’t expect to have generational drafts.

Then, I would have to read @Chopper0080 talk about rookie QB contract when in reality that’s just some BS that talking heads have fed you for the most part. That has only worked for teams that already had solid/good talent in place before the QB’s arrival. GMs are going to miss on big FA signings because that’s just the way it is.

I seen the dude above with the massive wall of text mention the Chiefs/Mahomes/Alex Smith as an example. If only it were that easy & we already had a good supporting cast being perennial playoff contenders. Drake Maye isn’t coming to that. He’s coming to basically the opposite. That example is not a good one. At all.


I don’t care if Kyler isn’t the guy, the guy, halfway the guy, the guy on the street, etc, we need talent across the board. I try not to fall in love with prospects, but we arguably have one of the best WR prospects staring right in our face. A cornerstone. Get him. Build the team first before getting the next QB.


Merry damn Christmas.

 

[slanidrac16]

God, I hope we don't actually end up in position to draft a top QB because that would put me in a horrible position opinion-wise. Kyler clearly isn't the guy but, as you say, we're not in great position to get rid of him. And I don't like the QB prospects. Ugh.

If Kyler ain’t the guy and we build the team around him but he still sucks then what? What happens if we were to win 6-7 games with a better roster in spite of Kyler?
At this time next year we would be drafting 11-12 and I doubt we will be able the get a franchise qb without giving up a boatload of picks.

But I agree with you. We go with Kyler and build the roster. It’s so hard to move on with such assinine decisions this organization has made. Not only the decisions they made but doubling down on those decisions after an embarrassing end of the season and atrocious loss to the Rams.

 

[slanidrac16]

I actually like Drake Maye a lot, but he will get done a disservice if we draft him. Coming into a very talent-deficient team expecting to carry this piss-poor franchise from day one. Then, the fanbase will start questioning him “is he good enough?” after he overachieves until we run into a team with much more talent & firepower than us. Now, we’re stuck because we’re not bad enough to draft a blue-chip talent or good enough to be a real contender. I don’t expect Monti have generational drafts because organizations themselves don’t expect to have generational drafts.

Then, I would have to read @Chopper0080 talk about rookie QB contract when in reality that’s just some BS that talking heads have fed you for the most part. That has only worked for teams that already had solid/good talent in place before the QB’s arrival. GMs are going to miss on big FA signings because that’s just the way it is.

I seen the dude above with the massive wall of text mention the Chiefs/Mahomes/Alex Smith as an example. If only it were that easy & we already had a good supporting cast being perennial playoff contenders. Drake Maye isn’t coming to that. He’s coming to basically the opposite. That example is not a good one. At all.


I don’t care if Kyler isn’t the guy, the guy, halfway the guy, the guy on the street, etc, we need talent across the board. I try not to fall in love with prospects, but we arguably have one of the best WR prospects staring right in our face. A cornerstone. Get him. Build the team first before getting the next QB.


Merry damn Christmas.

What a dilemma. The Packers had Farve and drafted Rodgers. Then they had Rodgers and drafted Love.
however they had a decent team and roster in place.
Kyler is either going to become the guy or play himself into a journeyman backup or starter ala Baker.

 

[Krangodnzr]

Lol. What a terrible take. It isn’t just that one throw. As that throw happened I realized your take on him is atrocious. That guy would succeed on many other teams. And replacing him with a bunch of other QBs in the nfl wouldn’t make the niners as effective.

And if you’re only argument is that best QB presently playing is better than Purdy, well you’re kinda supporting my argument. Name me 14 other QBs in the nfl at present that would have the niners offense as effective. Good luck.

This is a ridiculous argument because pretty much no other QB has the same weapons, OL, and coaching that Purdy has. Jimmy Garapolo posted nearly identical stats through his first 25 starts, but the only difference is the Niners running game is even better and so is their defense.

 

[krazy2k]

No, he is not. Time to move on from Kyler. If he stays another year or two, it's unlikely the team will get more than 4 or 5 wins in those seasons. Cards are bottom feeders right now. Don't see anything that will change that other than a complete rebuild.