National Football League

NFL odds: From Kyler Murray to Carson Wentz, lines on Cardinals' next QB

Updated Feb. 28, 2022 4:45 p.m. ET

On Monday, Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray released a lengthy statement that could impact the QB's future with Arizona in 2022.

In short, Murray — through his agent Erik Burkhardt — asked the organization to commit to him as the franchise's long-term starter.

With its ultimatum undertones, the letter comes on the heels of Murray unfollowing Arizona on social media and scrubbing his Instagram account of images of him wearing a Cardinals jersey (he has since added one photo of himself dressed out in Arizona gear).

From a fan perspective, this is simply another day in the ongoing Murray soap opera. But from a betting perspective, this news presents an opportunity to look at the odds on the franchise's next QB.

For that, we talked to the FOX Bet bookmakers for the hypothetical odds on who might suit up as the starter for Arizona in the 2022 season.

Kyler Murray: -300 (bet $10 to win $13.33 total)
Colt McCoy: +400 (bet $10 to win $50 total)
Carson Wentz: +600 (bet $10 to win $70 total)
Aaron Rodgers: +700 (bet $10 to win $80 total)
Jameis Winston: +800 (bet $10 to win $90 total)
Jimmy Garoppolo: +800 (bet $10 to win $90 total)
Deshaun Watson: +1200 (bet $10 to win $130 total)

FOX Bet commercial manager Jacob Blangsted-Barnor gave us his take on the Murray situation.

"It certainly was an interesting letter," the oddsmaker acknowledged. "This was Kyler’s attempt to clear his name and put the pressure on the franchise rather than having the onus on him."

As more tenured, proven quarterbacks such as Rodgers and Garoppolo potentially move to new teams, it's easy to understand why Murray is insisting the organization officially commit to him for the foreseeable future.

"Given his performance, Kyler is hoping to get a long-term deal — a deal that locks him in beyond his rookie contract," Blangsted-Barnor said.

According to the oddsmaker, though, that's a tricky situation.

"It’s a bit of a mixed bag when we look at recent quarterbacks who were given new deals after just year three. With Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City and then Josh Allen and Buffalo, it worked out.

"But when you look at Carson Wentz and Jared Goff, those are the instances that remind you that three years sometimes isn’t long enough to know exactly what you have in a starting QB."

Murray is set to make roughly $5.4 million next season, with a base salary of $965,000 and a roster bonus of $4,524,360, per Spotrac. The roster bonus is fully guaranteed on the fifth day of the League year.

The 2018 Heisman winner finished the NFL season with 3,787 passing yards, 29 touchdowns and a quarterback rating (QBR) of 57.3. In his three seasons with Arizona, he has completed 66.9% of his passes for 11,480 yards, and 70 touchdowns.

Are those stats worthy of a big extension? And more importantly, will Murray use his impressive record to ask out of Arizona?

According to the oddsmaker, it's more than likely Murray will return. Hence, why the Cardinals are the heavy favorites in the aforementioned list.

"I think this letter means that Kyler comes back to the Cardinals. It shows he doesn't want out and that he does, in fact, want to be there for the long haul," Blangsted-Barnor explained.

"The fans want that, too, and I think unless he and his agent are asking for a ridiculous amount of money, it only makes sense that the Cardinals tie him down."

Will Arizona and Murray make amends and move forward together, or will Kyler land on another team in 2022? We will find out soon!

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