Report: Arizona Picks Up Fifth-Year Option for Former Oklahoma QB Kyler Murray

Murray enters his fourth year with the Cardinals after being selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.

It has been a busy offseason for former Oklahoma quarterbacks.

While Baker Mayfield is still waiting to find his new team in the divorce from the Cleveland Browns, Kyler Murray has had a drama-laden offseason of his own as he looks to negotiate a contract extension with the Arizona Cardinals.

While things haven’t always appeared to be on great terms between the two parties over the last several months, the Cardinals did pick up Murray’s fifth-year option on Wednesday per a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

The #AZCardinals have picked up the 5th year option on QB Kyler Murray, source said.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 27, 2022

Last year, Murray’s third NFL campaign, the former Heisman Trophy winner completed 69.2 percent of his passes for 3,787 yards and 24 touchdowns while also adding 423 yards and five touchdowns rushing in his 14 games.

His play was a large reason for Arizona getting back to the playoffs, but it was a short stay there as the Cards were eliminated by the eventual Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams in the wild card round.

The move means Murray is now guaranteed a salary of $29.7 million for the 2023 season no matter what happens in 2022.

Kyler Murray / Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

But, it is very likely the two sides will continue to work toward a longer-term extension that would lock him in to Arizona for several years to come.

Should an extension not be reached before the end of next year, Arizona would have a decision to make on Murray very similar to what Cleveland has undergone with Mayfield.

In that case, the Browns elected to move on from the former Sooner despite him still having one year left on his deal.

There is a long way to go before Murray gets to that point with the Cardinals, with an entire offseason and 2022 schedule of games to be played before then.