Colin Cowherd: Kyler Murray is Aaron Rodgers

One of the many surprising aspects of this year's wild NFL offseason has been a public contract battle between Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals. Although it's not really a battle so much as it is Murray's agent going to reporters and spreading veiled threats about what might happen if the Cardinals don't sign Murray to a big-time extension. This extension is one Arizona doesn't really need to deal with right now because Murray is still under team control for two more seasons and the precedent has generally been that rookie QBs get their big deal after their fourth season.

Murray just finished up his third, and the way he did is cause for concern. He wilted under the playoff spotlight against the eventual champion Rams in the Wild Card round. Some leeway can certainly be given for a young quarterback under the bright lights of postseason football for the first time, but it was an utter catastrophe. Combine that with Murray struggling with injuries down the stretch run for the second year in a row and some leaks about how he's a bit petulant for someone who's supposed to be a leader, and it seems more likely an ugly holdout is on the way than a fat new deal for the QB.

Colin Cowherd talked about it on The Herd today and said Murray is a younger version of Aaron Rodgers. Not in terms of talent or success, but in terms of how they conduct themselves and the difficulty they find in winning at the highest levels as a result.

Cowherd is basing this mostly off rumor and conjecture, so we should take all of it with a grain of salt, but he does have a point. Whatever you may say about Murray, his talent has never been in doubt. He was a first-round MLB draft pick before becoming the first overall pick in the NFL, for crying out loud. He's probably one of the best overall athletes on the planet. Nobody could blame him if he's relied on that talent to get him this far.

As far as alleged aloofness and trust issues go, that's more of an individual person thing than any relation to talent level. Rodgers may be the same way but he has a ring. Murray is only in Year 3. A lot can change. But it is indeed tough to build a culture around a star quarterback who doesn't want to or won't be a leader who sets the standard for his teammates.