It might be a stretch to devote an entire post to this, but I just think there is a lot to think about and to discuss. You know, on one hand or the other. Maybe it’s a smokescreen, maybe it isn’t. So I am going to try to do just that.
1 – At first I definitely thought this was just one of those crazy draft stories with the sole purpose of bringing attention to the team and the event, but now it’s hard not to at least respect and accept the possibility that the Cardinals could indeed trade Josh Rosen and draft Kyler Murray. Still, I do think it’s a smokescreen, and I think the Cardinals will use every opportunity to reinforce that uncertainty.
2 - I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Keim says “Rosen is our quarterback right now. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the team website publish an article causing even more doubt on the topic, just about a week after they tried to erase any doubt that Rosen was the guy. I don’t even think it’s crazy to suspect that Rosen is in on it himself, and that he did in fact remove any Cardinals-related from his Facebook only to create a certain assumption around the league. I think we should all be prepared to be dragged through a whirlwind of conflicting and confusing signs for about two months more.
3 – Obviously, no matter what the Cardinals end up doing, they have a major interest in the pick being as valuable as possible. Everyone know the Niners and the Jets won’t take Murray, so going by the theory that the Cards’ pick would cost the most, why wouldn’t teams try to buy one of those two other picks for less? Because there is only one way to be sure to get Murray, and thus the Cardinals want Murray to be as coveted as possible – or at least create the assumption that he is very coveted - so that teams won’t dare to take the chance that he will slide to them at #2, #3, #4 or whatever spot they will trade up to. And in order for him to be that coveted, the Cardinals want to talk him up as much as possible. The more paranoid teams get that they will miss out on Murray, the better it is for the Cardinals. Again, this is true no matter if the Cardinals wants Murray themselves or not.
4 – Would we have heard the slightest thing about Kingsbury’s comments leading up to the Oklahoma-game if the Cards did not have the first pick? Would there ever be talk about the Cards wanting to trade up to target Murray? I don’t know.
5 – Say they do actually trade Rosen and draft Murray, then in the span of very short time Keim and Bidwill would have hired a head coach and fired him the year after, and traded up in the top 10 of the first round to select a quarterback, only to trade him away the year after. I doubt they would put themselves in that situation. That would be a whole lot of screw-up in a very short amount of time.
6 – A huge reason why the Cardinals hired Kliff Kingsbury was to help Josh Rosen. I know some will want you to believe that Murray was Kingsbury’s preference all along, but don’t believe it for one second. First, Murray had not declared for the draft at that time. Second, nobody knew if he wanted to play baseball.
7 – There’s something to be said about going all in on Kingsbury now that you have hired him, and if it’s true that he wants Murray, then maybe you should go for it.
8 – So Josh Rosen is not a fit in Kingsbury’s offense? Other than the fact that none of us know how Kingsbury’s offense will look like, I would also think that if Kingsbury is as smart as everyone say he is, then he can make it work with Josh Rosen, just as if Josh Rosen is as smart as everyone say he is, then he can make it work with Kliff Kingsbury.
9 – Every report says there will be substantial interest in Rosen if they do decide to trade him. No wonder? There’s a reason for that. The guy is good.
10 – If they can get a first round pick in return for Rosen, then the factual damage from drafting him would be limited to a not-so-relevant cap hit and the possibility of drafting a stud instead of Rosen. The last part is obviously by far the most significant. Several studs were drafted after the 10. spot.
11 – Who knows what the internal damage in the organization would be? The players questioning Kingsbury for wanting “his guy” instead of adjusting his approach to the players? The entire organization questioning Keim’s and Bidwill’s decision making (with Keim it would be questioning it even more after his drunk driving, and thus questioning his personal decisions AND his professional decisions)? Something else? I don’t know. I am just pointing attention to the possibility.
12 – A year ago, it was Steve Keim’s decision to trade up in the first round and draft Josh Rosen. Drafting Rosen was not Steve Wilks’ choice, just as drafting Murray won’t be Kingsbury’s choice. Both will be Keim’s (with Michael Bidwill’s blessing), and again, would he willingly put himself in that position?
13 – A year ago I would have thought that Rosen´s career would always be tied to and compared to the other quarterbacks in his class, especially since three of them got selected before him, but now there is no doubt that even more so Rosen’s career will be tied to Murray’s.
14 – The report that taking Murray #1 overall is “a done deal”, almost two months away from the draft? I mean, really? Anyone really believe that?
15 – If the Cardinals do select Murray, then maybe the Niners will take Bosa, and then Bosa gets to do his best to destroy Murray and get his vengeance over the Cardinals two times each year. That is a scary thought.
1 – At first I definitely thought this was just one of those crazy draft stories with the sole purpose of bringing attention to the team and the event, but now it’s hard not to at least respect and accept the possibility that the Cardinals could indeed trade Josh Rosen and draft Kyler Murray. Still, I do think it’s a smokescreen, and I think the Cardinals will use every opportunity to reinforce that uncertainty.
2 - I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Keim says “Rosen is our quarterback right now. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the team website publish an article causing even more doubt on the topic, just about a week after they tried to erase any doubt that Rosen was the guy. I don’t even think it’s crazy to suspect that Rosen is in on it himself, and that he did in fact remove any Cardinals-related from his Facebook only to create a certain assumption around the league. I think we should all be prepared to be dragged through a whirlwind of conflicting and confusing signs for about two months more.
3 – Obviously, no matter what the Cardinals end up doing, they have a major interest in the pick being as valuable as possible. Everyone know the Niners and the Jets won’t take Murray, so going by the theory that the Cards’ pick would cost the most, why wouldn’t teams try to buy one of those two other picks for less? Because there is only one way to be sure to get Murray, and thus the Cardinals want Murray to be as coveted as possible – or at least create the assumption that he is very coveted - so that teams won’t dare to take the chance that he will slide to them at #2, #3, #4 or whatever spot they will trade up to. And in order for him to be that coveted, the Cardinals want to talk him up as much as possible. The more paranoid teams get that they will miss out on Murray, the better it is for the Cardinals. Again, this is true no matter if the Cardinals wants Murray themselves or not.
4 – Would we have heard the slightest thing about Kingsbury’s comments leading up to the Oklahoma-game if the Cards did not have the first pick? Would there ever be talk about the Cards wanting to trade up to target Murray? I don’t know.
5 – Say they do actually trade Rosen and draft Murray, then in the span of very short time Keim and Bidwill would have hired a head coach and fired him the year after, and traded up in the top 10 of the first round to select a quarterback, only to trade him away the year after. I doubt they would put themselves in that situation. That would be a whole lot of screw-up in a very short amount of time.
6 – A huge reason why the Cardinals hired Kliff Kingsbury was to help Josh Rosen. I know some will want you to believe that Murray was Kingsbury’s preference all along, but don’t believe it for one second. First, Murray had not declared for the draft at that time. Second, nobody knew if he wanted to play baseball.
7 – There’s something to be said about going all in on Kingsbury now that you have hired him, and if it’s true that he wants Murray, then maybe you should go for it.
8 – So Josh Rosen is not a fit in Kingsbury’s offense? Other than the fact that none of us know how Kingsbury’s offense will look like, I would also think that if Kingsbury is as smart as everyone say he is, then he can make it work with Josh Rosen, just as if Josh Rosen is as smart as everyone say he is, then he can make it work with Kliff Kingsbury.
9 – Every report says there will be substantial interest in Rosen if they do decide to trade him. No wonder? There’s a reason for that. The guy is good.
10 – If they can get a first round pick in return for Rosen, then the factual damage from drafting him would be limited to a not-so-relevant cap hit and the possibility of drafting a stud instead of Rosen. The last part is obviously by far the most significant. Several studs were drafted after the 10. spot.
11 – Who knows what the internal damage in the organization would be? The players questioning Kingsbury for wanting “his guy” instead of adjusting his approach to the players? The entire organization questioning Keim’s and Bidwill’s decision making (with Keim it would be questioning it even more after his drunk driving, and thus questioning his personal decisions AND his professional decisions)? Something else? I don’t know. I am just pointing attention to the possibility.
12 – A year ago, it was Steve Keim’s decision to trade up in the first round and draft Josh Rosen. Drafting Rosen was not Steve Wilks’ choice, just as drafting Murray won’t be Kingsbury’s choice. Both will be Keim’s (with Michael Bidwill’s blessing), and again, would he willingly put himself in that position?
13 – A year ago I would have thought that Rosen´s career would always be tied to and compared to the other quarterbacks in his class, especially since three of them got selected before him, but now there is no doubt that even more so Rosen’s career will be tied to Murray’s.
14 – The report that taking Murray #1 overall is “a done deal”, almost two months away from the draft? I mean, really? Anyone really believe that?
15 – If the Cardinals do select Murray, then maybe the Niners will take Bosa, and then Bosa gets to do his best to destroy Murray and get his vengeance over the Cardinals two times each year. That is a scary thought.