NostraKMARKus

Weeeeeeell sometimes Ole’ KMARK catches a whiff of somethin brewin. Catches a little sniff of some somthin….I bet you enjoyed reading up on the mechanics of the NFL’s Transition Tag, and whaddya know, BANG *Mike Breen voice*, Daniel Jones becomes the first QB in 30 years to receive the tag. The Colts are on the hook for $37.8m guaranteed and can match any offer sheet Jones signs with another team. I’d expect Daniel to get out there and at least try to drum up a multi-year deal. Coming off a torn achilles, Jones could still guarantee himself two years and more than $37.8m even if the annual value checks in lower. A second year of guaranteed money structured in a way that makes retaining his spot attractive to another team would be a major win. Of course, things change fast for NFL QBs. Look no further than….

Kyler Murray. Ex-Cardinals QB Kyler Murray. Had you been a November KMARK reader, you’d have gotten the jump early on this. Murray’s time in the desert is over, and the Cards will have to stomach almost $37m in dead cap monies. That number grows or shrinks depending on whether Murray is designated a pre or post June 1st release, but we’ll save the financial engineering for another time. Should this be happening? No. Of course not, but this is how the Arizona Cardinals stay the Arizona Cardinals. Let’s examine:

Cards GM Monti Ossenfort is hanging on by a thread and this desperation move likely ends with his demise in 2027. It’s a copy-cat league to the point that everyone thinks moving on from deadweight at the QB position means they can be the next Broncos (Russell Wilson → Bo Nix). Shipping out quality players, eating a ton of cash, and crossing your fingers with the next guy isn’t exactly how I’d build a Program. But, the Cardinals have never built one. The league’s longest continually run franchise (128 years) is going to have sit in the dumpster a little longer.