National Football League

Cardinals inching closer to paying Kyler Murray?

Updated Jun. 15, 2022 4:20 p.m. ET

The Arizona Cardinals have their franchise quarterback.

But up to this point, they've yet to pay Kyler Murray the money he feels he deserves. And according to Joy Taylor, that reality needs to change sooner rather than later.

"I am praying that this contract gets done before training camp, because what I don't want to deal with is another Dak Prescott saga," Taylor said Wednesday on "The Herd."

Why the Cardinals need to pay Kyler Murray

The Kyler Murray situation has slowed down, but contract talks are continuing. Arizona Cardinals Head Coach Kliff Kingsbury said that he is 'praying' the quarterback's contract situation is resolved by training camp next month. Joy Taylor breaks down why it is time for the Cardinals to ‘get it done’ with Murray.

In 46 career starts, Murray is 22-23-1 with a passer rating of 93.9. He has completed 66.9% of his passes, and has tallied 11,480 passing yards (249.6 passing yards per game), 70 touchdowns and 34 interceptions.

"I never understand why organizations get to the point where they have to pay their quarterback, and then it's this panic of having to pay him," Taylor said. "This is a good thing to have to pay for. It's actually the No. 1 thing you should want to pay for. This is a franchise quarterback."

Murray was also named Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2019 and is a two-time Pro Bowler.

However, he only has a single playoff start, and in that start, he went 19-for-34 for 137 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions.

Still, Taylor said that the key when it comes to Murray is that the team has improved over the course of each season he's served as the starter.

"You look at the Cardinals' record since Kyle Murray arrived. In 2019, they were 5-10-1. In 2020, they were 8-8. Then, in 2021, they were 9-5 in his starts. They have gotten better every single year with Kyler Murray. Same with Kliff Kingsbury, which is why they gave him an extension.

"Someone who I always point to with this is Kirk Cousins. He's considered to be completely average — not elite, not terrible. What's happened with Washington since they franchise tagged him twice and gave him $44 million guaranteed in two years? They went 33-29-1 — totally average. Since Cousins left the building, they've gone through 10 quarterbacks in four years, not including Carson Wentz, and their record is 24-41 — seventh-worst in the league during that time.

"So you can be completely average and pay a guy a lot, or be above average-to-great — which Kyler Murray is in that conversation — and pay a guy a lot."