Former Arizona Cardinals General Manager Steve Keim is sticking by his decision from three years ago to take Kyler Murray over Nick Bosa atop the NFL Draft. Keim even credits Kyler Murray with helping him land a contract extension with the Cardinals before the start of the 2022 NFL season.
“Kyler got me an extension,” Steve Keim said on “The Dan Patrick Show” Tuesday. “Nick Bosa probably would have gotten me fired.”
It wasn't exactly viewed as a controversial choice when the Cardinals selected Murray with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. Bosa went to the San Francisco 49ers with the No. 2 pick. Before the draft, Bosa told Keim that he would haunt him for the rest of his career if the Cardinals went with Murray instead of the defensive end.
Picking Murray first sure seemed like the right choice for a few years. The Cardinals' quarterback won the 2019 Offensive Rookie of the Year award and was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2020 and 2021. Murray led Arizona to an 11-win season in the 2021 campaign.
The Cardinals were eliminated by the eventual champion Los Angeles Rams in the wild-card round of the playoffs. Both Keim and head coach Kliff Kingsbury were rewarded with contract extensions that ran through the 2027 season.
The Cardinals' 34-11 playoff loss turned out to be a sign of things to come. Arizona went 4-13 last season. Murray suffered a torn ACL that might cost him most of the 2023 campaign. Despite his lengthy contract, Kingsbury was fired. Keim stepped down as the Cardinals' GM.
Bosa, meanwhile, won the 2022 NFL Defensive Player of the Year award. In four seasons with Bosa on the roster, the 49ers have made three NFC Championship Game appearances
The Cardinals are still looking for their first playoff win with Murray. Arizona gave Murray a five-year, $230.5 million extension last year.
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