The Baltimore Ravens are set at quarterback with Lamar Jackson. He is one of the best players in football, and he is currently under contract through 2027. It’s hard to fathom him going anywhere else after that, either.
But an NFL coach has pitched a rather wild quarterback move for the Ravens, suggesting that they could try Arizona Cardinals signal-caller Kyler Murray as their backup next season.
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“If you wanted to get your backup behind Lamar (Jackson), maybe? Is he done as a starter?” the coach said of Murray, via Mike Sando of The Athletic.
There are multiple problems with Murray joining Baltimore.
First of all, Murray would be sitting waiting for a Jackson injury to have a chance to start. There is no way he would ever be able to take the starting quarterback job from the two-time MVP.
Second, Murray still has two years remaining on the five-year, $230.5 million extension he signed with the Cardinals back in 2022. He also has a $34 million club option for 2028, which obviously wouldn’t be an issue here.
But would Baltimore want to pay that much for a backup? Almost certainly not.
Arizona could trade Murray this offseason, but if he does move, you figure it would be to a team that could feature him in a quarterback competition. Maybe the Pittsburgh Steelers give him a chance if Aaron Rodgers retires, for example. Otherwise, Murray would be a tough fit anywhere because of his contract.
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The Ravens are one of the last places any quarterback would want to go unless they simply want to learn under Jackson as a protege and eventually go elsewhere. That simply would not be the case for Murray, a former No. 1 overall pick who has been in the league since 2019 and has a couple of Pro Bowls under his belt.
Baltimore’s front office is far too shrewd to even consider this. The only way it would make sense is if the Cardinals agreed to eat most of Murray’s deal, and even then, the Ravens would still probably balk.
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