With the deadline approaching next week, the Cardinals officially picked up the fifth-year team option on the contract of quarterback Kyler Murray on Wednesday.
It was a move General Manager Steve Keim said would be coming, but it doesn't change the chance for Murray and the team to work out a contract extension later this offseason.
Keim said last week that timing would be at the heart of any potential new deal, and it wouldn't be before the draft.
"The way we've approached it is we have free agency, we have the draft, and then we'll take a deep breath and sort of refocus," Keim said. "That's the same reason that every other player that's been a third-year quarterback has been done in the middle of the summer to late summer. It's no different for us, it's just sort of the way that the system works. But nothing has changed in terms of him being our long-term and short-term quarterback."
Murray is now officially under contract for 2022 and 2023. The 2023 year added with the option guarantees him a salary of about $29 million, a number bumped up after his two Pro Bowl appearances in his first three seasons. As of now, Murray is only scheduled to make about $5.5 million in salary and bonuses this season, a big reason he is looking for an extension.
While there has been a lot of speculation around the future of Murray this offseason, Keim said there was "zero chance" he would be traded and Murray said on Twitter the same day his goal was to win Super Bowls with the Cardinals and that Arizona is his home.