It depends on who is running the show in Foxborough.
If it’s Bill Belichick, there’s no chance. Belichick’s no days off mantra stands in direct contrast with Murray’s no work away from the facility reputation. The Cardinals famously tried to put a you have to actually watch film clause into his massive contract and Murray hasn’t run from the dog-ate-my-homework persona.
“I think I was blessed with the cognitive skills to just go out there and just see it before it happens,” Murray said, via Sarah Kezele of 98.7 Arizona Sports. “I’m not one of those guys that’s going to sit there and kill myself watching film. I don’t sit there for 24 hours and break down this team and that team and watch every game because, in my head, I see so much.”
Wedding that approach with Belichick’s sounds like a recipe for a speedy divorce.
Now if the Patriots bring in some sort of new age coach that’s into avant garde quarterback play, there’s a way Murray could wind up in New England. For what it’s worth, he’s played his style relatively effectively with a bad Arizona roster and the cost to acquire him would likely be relatively cheap if the Cardinals decide to move on; the dual-threat is coming off an ACL tear and he still has $35 million guaranteed in 2024. With a ton of cap space, the Patriots could stomach that if they wanted to.
So could they trade for him? Probably. But personally, I’d err on the Belichick-ian side here.
I think you need your quarterback to be your strongest leader, and a guy that’s notorious for not going the extra mile isn’t somebody you want in the foxhole next to you. Can you imagine checking the film study hours on Tom Brady’s iPad — or Peyton Manning’s, or Patrick Mahomes’ etc. — and being like, “there’s a problem here?” Of course not. The best quarterbacks are maniacal in their preparation. Murray is not who I’d want leading.
