When Kyler Murray inked the deal with the Arizona Cardinals this past week -- to become the 2nd highest paid QB in the NFL at (just over the absolutely ridiculous sum of) $46 million/year --
..well, there were plenty of people left fairly well astounded. Even the Arizona sports pundits were lining up to talk pros/cons:
"Well, AZ is better with him, right?"
"Who else could step in and help the Cards right now?"
"Is he really worth $46 million? Does he limit our ability to sign other stars?"
And although I count myself a long time St. Louis/Phoenix/Arizona Cardinal football fan (covering the illustrious cities of St. Louis, Tempe and Glendale), it wasn't long ago that I was joining Larry Fitzgerald Sr. (yes, the "Fitz"...well, not THE Fitz, the Sr. Fitz, the great Larry Fitzgerald's dad) in the chorus of "grow up" comments surrounding what appeared to be pretty childish antics from Kyler M (after Kyler deleted references of himself and the Cardinals in his social media accounts amid the growing tension of the contract extension/renewal talks)
So there was that, BUT, there was the backlash from some writers/fans that Kyler had checked out on the Cardinals at the end of the season.
So with that backdrop, I even went so far as to call for trading Kyler away...and as a Tua Tagovailoa fan (yes, you're either in on Tua or out), Tua was high on my list: "Tua and Waddle for Kyler", I implored of the Cardinals...
(Credit @KdayKards)
And then there was silence, as the Kyler Murray saga was forgotten and we turned to Ukraine, baseball, the incredible tragedy of Uvalde, the NFL draft, the NBA draft, the Jan 6 hearings, the MLB All-Star game (JROD, Soto, Pujols)..and yes, our lives generally....
Forgotten, until, for me at least, the 46 million a year bombshell contract just slammed my inbox by way of twitter, news feeds, ESPN, airwaves, chats, everywhere.....well, for a moment at least.....
This out of the galaxy Murray news was followed by the processing thig....the "what the _____ just happened?".......and then maybe the realization that order had been restored to the #RedSea universe....
But then came the Twitterverse hate:
But wait a minute. Hold on here....
Why is everyone dissing Kyler Murray? Pay the guy! He's going to get the Cards to the Super Bowl!!!!!....isn't he? maybe? I hope....
Then came this drop in one of my fantasy baseball leagues.....and hey, I didn't invite this...
So now Baker Mayfield is better than Kyler Murray? Are you trying to say that AZ should have gotten the Baker's dozen discount? A QB that almost nobody wanted to take on (and the guy that CLE did everything they could to treat like crap and jettison off their roster?) Oh, by the way, did this Rimmer guy know that Kyler has more passing yards per game (over his career) than Baker M (good for 19th ALL-time!!!)...
Ok, ok, its just 14 more passing yards a game by Kyler over Baker (and, ok, AZ has to pass since they usually can't run the ball)....but still, 19th in the entire history/universe of the NFL is pretty good right?
(just don't look at all those guys ahead of Kyler that get paid way less)
Well, instead of getting into that debate (Kyler vs Baker), I mean why even indulge my trolls....That was a baseball fantasy league and the wrong forum for the Kyler hate (or Baker love...I do like those commercials though)
But, that had me thinking. Kyler was a baseball player, at Oklahoma
And a pretty good one!
So maybe there is room for Kyler here. And, Wasn't he drafted by the A's?
Ok, well there's the proof. The A's took a gamble by selecting Kyler Murray 9th in the 2018 draft -- ahead of Balt SP (and #1 prospect) Grayson Rodriguez, STL 2b/3b Nolan Gorman, SEA SP Logan Gilbert, MN OF Trevor Larnach, BOS#1 prospect Tristan Casas and loads of other talented players....
And, Kyler even signed and took the money....
So if he then chose the NFL over MLB, what did that mean for the Oakie Dokies? I mean, they got something besides (hopefully) their money back...
'No regrets', huh. But no pick back?
I mean, it was just last year when the Mets took Kumar Rocker in the first round but didn't sign him (due to concerns over an injury). And, we all know (from this year's draft) that the Mets received an extra first round pick.
But poor A's, they didn't get a compensatory pick because Kyler signed the contract and took the money (even if he repaid it when he chose to sign with the AZ Cardinals as the #1 overall pick). So when he later chose not to play, the A's retained his
rights, but essentially lost out on a pick. For a team that is currently the American League's worse, that has to sting.
And for a team that is continuing to jettison its major league talent in an effort to shed $$ and look to a more affordable youth/prospect movement, wouldn't it have been nice to have had a Nolan Gorman or Grayson Rodriguez type to build around?
Well, in the immortal words of last place GM David "Iceman" Forst:
So, I guess we've come full circle. What do I think of my superstar, mega rich Arizona Cardinal QB savior Kyler Murray that I wanted AZ to trade, that signed one of the richest contracts in NFL history and then is being shredded in social media (and sports) circles?
Well, I guess all I can I hope for is to stand strong like a Forst-berg...and that me and my Cards end up with a big fat "no regrets"... [& see you back here again in 5 years Forst and Kyler]
[A final credit to my fantasy league mates: "Jim" and "Michael" for helping inspire this story]
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