Skip to main content
Advertising

Kliff Kingsbury on 1st pick: 'Everything's on the table'

Kyler Murray seemingly checks all the boxes for Cardinals first-year coach Kliff Kingsbury.

There's familiarity. There's Murray's skillset and its phenomenal fit within Kingsbury's offense.

There's also Josh Rosen -- the Cardinals' first-round choice and supposed quarterback of the future from only a season ago.

As April 25 -- the first day of the 2019 NFL Draft -- draws near, perhaps the largest storyline is what will Arizona do with the No. 1 overall selection?

Will the Cardinals stick with Rosen? Will they draft Murray? Is a trade in the works?

When asked by NFL Network's Steve Wyche on Saturday if a possibility existed for the Cardinals to take a quarterback in the first round, Kingsbury, a former gunslinging quarterback himself, did nothing to quell speculation.

"I think everything's on the table," he said. "When you have that first pick, you've gotta turn over every stone and look at every scenario that's out there, and so we're definitely doing that."

While it's unlikely anything will be cleared up until draft day, Kingsbury truly emphasized that anything could be in the Cards.

Whatever the move might be, it's yet to be decided upon as the intrigue builds.

"We haven't [decided what we're going to do with the top pick]. We haven't. We're a long ways from that," Kingsbury said. "You know, coaches on the road, scouts from the road, private workouts, pro days. And we won't even discuss until next week and try to fill our board and go from there."

As Kingsbury, who has zero coaching experience in the NFL, settles in, there is an abundance of things to get acclimated to. He's dealing with free agency for the first time, which he told Wyche was the largest learning curve he's dealt with. He's also helming a team littered with high-profile veterans such as the newly-acquired Terrell Suggs, running back David Johnson, defensive back Patrick Peterson and, of course leading the way, perhaps the greatest Cardinals player of all-time, Larry Fitzgerald.

Thus, the Rosen-Murray-No. 1-pick dilemma could most certainly be a distraction.

"Yeah, I think you focus on what you can control and Josh knows our feelings on him and that hasn't changed. He's a tremendous talent," Kingsbury said. "So, excited about his future."

But the No. 1 question is whether Rosen's future will be in Arizona.

Kingsbury clarified that they have spoken and the soon-to-be-second-year quarterback knows he's thought highly of and, likely most importantly, that no matter what happens, it's simply the way of the NFL.

"Yeah, I've talked to Josh and he understands it's a business and what all goes with the first pick and what's going on," the coach said.

So, it's not out of the question that Rosen could be a Cardinal next season, but the only clarity offered by Kingsbury is that nothing is out of the question.

"Yeah, I do [think Rosen could remain with the team]. I do," Kingsbury said. "I mean, when you have the first pick, anything can happen, as you know, but you know, he's a talented player, and we're very high on him and that hasn't changed."

This article has been reproduced in a new format and may be missing content or contain faulty links. Please use the Contact Us link in our site footer to report an issue.

Related Content