with something brand-new. The offseason program has begun in
Arizona. Murray not, they're not a surprise given that he's
trying to leverage the situation to get his contract.
Here is veteran j.j. Watt who joined the Cardinals last year,
talking about the absence of the team's franchise quarterback.
JJ does it matter to you? That you're starting quarterbacks?
Not there working out with you guys know
why not?
Because all, I need him to be there for is the first game of
the season and play good. How do you talk to Tyler Marie this
all season? And what advice would you give
a player of his caliber when they're going through like
an ongoing contract dispute?
I mean, we talked frequently
as far as advice on contracts and things like that. I mean,
if he wants my advice, I'm here for it, but I'm not,
he's everybody goes to their own situation and of
quarterback in this league is bad. Lee different than any
book. Any other position, everybody knows that it's it's
a quarterback driven League. You have to have a great one to
have a chance at success.
We're fortunate to have a great one
and I look forward to getting out there and playing with them
again this season
and will it be there week one? That's really the question.
I think this is all going to come to a head sooner rather than
later the Cardinals
supposedly plan to do it in the summer. We've talked about this
murder want to get it done if possible now,
so that It'd be a window to
what happened last week, six days ago, the dust up, then
it's led to nothing.
So if that wasn't effort with two weeks to go before the draft,
to bring things to some sort of a conclusion,
some sort of a negotiation, some sort of an impasse,
and then maybe someone could trade for him.
I think they've realized,
it's just not happening. There's no clamoring
from other teams to try to get him.
There's no indication that they've even talked.
It's just kind of there,
and it's going to continue to be there.
It's going to hover over the Cardinals and it's going to be
one of the things we continue to track and monitor and talk
about until they do get a deal done and we'll see if they can
get a deal done
when june-july rolls around. Yeah, it feels inevitable.
I mean, it feels like it's gonna happen but it feels like
there's going to be, you know,
some moments like this along the way. I, yeah, I don't get
the sense or feel that like carry. The Cardinals are
looking to trade Kyler Maria that he really wants to go
anywhere else. It's just a contract. Impasse like you're
talking about,
he It's his money. Now. He wants to be protected.
You know, I I get that I do,
you know, I as a football player and a guy that's been
around it. You know, I don't love the oh wait, it's you
know, it's still a young quarterback here where we're
just going to miss, you know, spring Spring ball. We're going
to miss OTAs, not be there. A team that, you know, we doesn't
finish strong and now is not going to have the leader.
I don't love that. I don't
not to say that. I really think it'll
make a huge difference,
you know, during the
Reason, but I do think the camaraderie,
you know, this is the time of the year where
you start to, hey, let's Tinker with this play and that play
because you know, we hate Kyler. This is, It's Your for,
you know, you know, everything in the offense. Now, I want to
add, you know, I was thinking about this as I was watching
this, you know, the last few months and thinking about
adding these formations with this plays and all of that type
of stuff to where you do lose out on that.
There's definitely value in that. So that that bothers me
is a guy that's a football guy, but this Is the business of
the NFL right now? And
yeah, Kyle immersion of stay away.
Well, and he has every right to do so. And you know, it's one
thing to mention real quickly. I poked around about this last
night because in 2021, one of the big issues that the players
were pushing was
collectively, staying away from the offseason program. The try
to leverage better terms, less intense, practice has fewer.
Oh, ta sessions Etc. It was a very public push.
And it worked this year, you're not hearing any of that. I'm
told that they're taking more of a behind-the-scenes approach
trying to continue the dialogue with teams to shape the program
a little bit differently. It's not having quite the same
impact as last year, when there was,
it's not a strike. Because again, you, you're not required
to do it. You're doing the bare minimum that you're required to
do Under the CBA, but it's still there. It's just not as
out front, and I think, Most of the absences were seeing so far
or because of
individual circumstance is not
a collective effort
by yeah, players to say we're not going to go.
And last year. I think the lingering
concerns with the pandemic had something to do with on Union
seized on the ideal with house safe for these facilities. Are
these guys say for working out on their own, there was still
a lot of unknowns and uncertainties, but now
the only impediment the guys showing up the biggest
impediment seems to be what's my contract situation and guys
have ever Rewrite to stay away. It's newsworthy when they're
not there.
But that doesn't mean we're
passing judgment or casting aspersions on their decisions
to not be there. They have every right to not be there
because it's all voluntary, but for the three-day mandatory
minicamp that every team has. Yeah, it's not as to be
like taboo to like Miss anymore.
The world has changed. Its, you know, even from my
era of the early 2000s, mid 2000s where
Mike we discussed this a lot. It's just
There's a lot of guys, the other personal trainers.
The quarterbacks. Are
you? No more inclined to get groups together and throw
footballs and do things on their own. There's more
quarterbacks that have their own quarterbacks coach. Now
that was not even a thing. 10. 12 years ago, like nobody in
the NFL had a quarterback coach. Now everybody does like
in high school. So
it's not like imperative. It's not like you're missing
anything groundbreaking the first week or so or all that,
but there is still value being there and I don't know.
To me. What I want to look go is, like,
I remember NFL off Seasons.
They were very easy. What? What is the nflpa want? I that's
where I would. I love the players. I love it. I look at
the NFL offseason and go,
it's a great thing.
I mean, what that you're not in the building that long, you
work out your around your coaches. You learn a little
football on your out of there. And it's usually four days
a week.
I mean, tell me where you can sign up for a job for days,
a week where you get there at. Tate and leave at 12:30 but
this night and put that's I know, I'm not getting paid,
you're doing it for free. I am free. I get it. Yeah, unless
you have a workout bonus working for free. Okay,
I get it. I mean, yes, you're working for free. I guess. Yes,
it would mean to a degree. I mean, they're also paying you
to be a professional and be there and, and be a player and
make yourself the best. You to be heard during the season. And
you know, that's where
I mean. What are we going to do? Just not do anything. All
offseason, and then just show up at training camp. I mean,
that'll be a disaster. I think. At some point. If that does
happen,
that was the point we made last week. I mean, what are you
gonna do? You're gonna do something somewhere, and it's
always better to do it in the building than on your own,
because if you get injured on your own, you are SOL. Yeah,
like Juwan. James was. And that, that grievance is still
pending against the Broncos, but
you're safer. You have, you have an insurance policy
that pays out your full salary
in the event that you suffer. Some sort of a serious injury,
some sort of a fluke thing, lifting weights, running on
the field, doing whatever.
/. But you know, and in an environment where the NFL
always drive, if you haven't heard the NFL always drives
a hard bargain against everyone, including the
players. You're in an environment with the NFL is
always looking to drive the hardest possible bargain with
everyone. They bargain with
then, if you've got some power,
you know, that that's what it's about. What power do we have?
What can we do to try to exert some leverage back against
the NFL? That's part of what this is. They just expect
the players.
Show up and take whatever
piddly little per diem that they get. And Chris. I remember
back in the time frame that you were playing. I remember
constantly hearing concerns about the
the extent of contact during these yay practicals. And
they're like,
yeah. The offensive lineman
I used to hear back then they just wanted to wear shoulder
pads because they're out there with helmets and no other
protection and they're hitting like it's really practice and
they don't have pads on in.
They're the helmets are hitting their shoulders and getting
banged up. Like let's just wear pads. If we're going to do this
and you're not wrong there. You've got young guys try to
prove themselves. Yeah, so they're
they're full of piss and vinegar and they're trying to
show that they belong and they're out there in these
unpadded practices and they want to impress the coaches.
The, the onus has always been on the coaches to find a way to
take some of the steam out of a situation where you put 11 on
11 and you stand you
up and you say go,
they're going to go out there and start beating the crap out
of each other. Yeah, it looked but I know It's different now
than it was then to in a short period of time. I think
the league is adjusted to some of those things you're talking
about,
you know, at that time. Yes,
you know, there was still an old-school faction of people
that were, like, screw the league. We're going to practice
the way we want to, you know, I was with one of those coaches.
Yes. I was. I mean,
yeah,
you're not allowed to have a walk through, you know, during
odia the early but we had a walk there every day. We never
listen, our walkthrough. I mean, what if Jon Gruden? He
was going to listen to that crap.
App what? Oh, you know, so so yes, I think there was some
people that push the limits,
but what happened,
you know, is players started to push back and
play a representative started. Calling the nflpa and being
like we were out here today, hitting it was supposed to be
an OT a practice
and somebody got decapitated running over the middle and
catching a pass. We had another guy that you know, hurt his leg
was. So there was that that went on and I was part of that
as a player rep to where that started to become a thing.
And I think the NFL has adjusted now to where
the coaches know the players, take it serious, the league,
takes it serious, and I think they follow the rules a little
bit better than they used to.
They always watched the new coaches, the most closely. He
has. Those are the ones who were more likely to number.
One, throw caution to the wind until they understood what the
boundaries were.
And number two. They just don't know.
They don't know what can and can't be done.
But yeah. Hey, I remember one Gruden
came back into the NFL with the Raiders four years ago.
He was constantly complaining. Yeah, about how the rules had
changed since he had been a coach. It's even more
restricted now, he was pre 2011
CBA when everything got dialed back and now he's thrown back
into it. He's realizing all the things he can't do and players
who want to meet with him, want to talk to him. Once you get to
know the Playbook want to show up
at 3:45 a.m. At the offices of the fire football coaches
association and watch film. And Iraq, you know, drink coffee,
hang out like you can't do that either that that stuff had him
livid. But,
but again, they've all learned how to operate within
the confines of those rules, but there will be some violations
from time to time and, and when they happen, they get, they get
whacked for it. And
the NFL, the nflpa do a good job of keeping an eye on.