Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray is out for the season after tearing his ACL in Monday night’s loss to the Patriots.
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson was injured in last week’s win over the Denver Broncos. In fact it was the same exact week that Jackson got injured in last season when he missed the final six games of the season after starting 8-3 and the Ravens missed the playoffs.
Kyler Murray and Lamar Jackson Injured
While both star quarterbacks are injured, Murray, whose injury is season-ending, is the only one with security. Murray signed a five-year, $230.1M extension with $160M guaranteed in the offseason. So injured or not, that $160M already cleared the account.
Jackson’s injury is week-to-week. One of two unanimous MVPs in league history, he refused to sign a huge deal with the Ravens this offseason, instead opting to bet on himself and cash in on an all-time payout. Jackson is playing on the final year of his five-year rookie deal.
Lamar Jackson And Ravens Couldn’t Reach A Deal
All offseason it was reported that Jackson and Ravens brass couldn’t come to an agreement on the amount of guaranteed money, so Jackson decided to bet on himself.
Kyler Murray out for the season with a torn ACL. (via @RapSheet) pic.twitter.com/AmWczqXxt5
— NFL (@NFL) December 13, 2022
And thus far that’s backfired tremendously. In the NFL you take the money as Murray did because you’re always one injury away from being out the league or what teams consider damaged goods.
Lamar Jackson Injured In Consecutive Seasons
Jackson being injured in consecutive seasons doesn’t help his cause for a type of deal like the Browns gave quarterback Deshaun Watson. In March, the former Clemson Tigers star signed the largest fully guaranteed deal in league history, five-years, $230 million, which averages out to a whopping $46 million per season.
Murray And Kliff Kingsbury Are Joined At The Hip Until 2027
The injury to Murray on Monday night was a downer for the Cardinals, but in retrospect it just further solidifies that Murray and head coach Kliff Kingsbury will be together for the very foreseeable future.
Ownership signed both to extensions during the offseason, tying them together for the next five seasons. And while Kingsbury has struggled, Arizona’s owners are not known to be big spenders, meaning they aren’t firing Kingsbury and paying him a bag to go away, and then paying another coach to come in.
During his Tuesday presser at the team facility, Kingsbury talked about Murray’s mindset following the diagnosis.
“He’s never been through this type of serious injury, so it’ll be a challenge for him, but … he’s up for the challenge.”
“It’s unfortunate and tough to see. Talking to him last night — it was a tough night.”
This is just the beginning of the Murray/Kingsbury saga so buckle your seatbelt.
Jackson And John Harbaugh’s Long-Term Prognosis Together Isn’t As Clear
With Jackson’s contract being up at season’s end and his refusal to discuss a new deal during the season, this could be his swan song in Baltimore. Head coach John Harbaugh is probably safe for the duration of his deal, but if the team isn’t able to re-sign Jackson that situation could become dicey. Harbs might be looking for a new home if his quarterback bounces.
As of now, Harbaugh doesn’t even know if he’ll have Jackson or Tyler Huntley, the team’s very serviceable backup. Jackson is still recovering from his ankle injury, and Huntley is in concussion protocol from Sunday’s blow to the head suffered against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Ravens HC John Harbaugh gives update on Lamar Jackson.
“Week-to-week” less likely this week. pic.twitter.com/8WQ2qnxGHn
— Kyle Phoenix (@KylePBarber) December 5, 2022
“They’re deep into the protocol now. I really don’t have updates that I would be allowed to share on that. So, there’s really no pronouncements on that, or Lamar in terms of who’s going to be ready and not ready at this point in time.”
If Harbaugh had his choice, we know he’s praying that his star signal-caller can return sooner than later. He also remembers what happened when Jackson went down last season. They went from the top seed in the AFC to out of the playoffs.
It looks like both Jackson and Baltimore are losing out this season. As for Kyler Murray, it’s back to the drawing board once the diminutive dynamo recovers from the worst injury of his career. Without him the Cardinals are mediocre at best.
