The Indianapolis Colts are trying to re-sign quarterback Daniel Jones, including placing the transition tag on him, but if that doesn't work out, should the team look at signing Kyler Murray? One NFL insider believes the latter might be the better option.
Podcaster Gregg Rosenthal tweeted recently, "I'd rather have Kyler Murray than post-Achilles Daniel Jones, and it's not that close."
Fair enough. Everyone has a right to their opinion, and others have a right to push back on said opinion. In the case of Rosenthal, he might be too caught up in each player's raw physical ability instead of how that translates to being a good NFL quarterback, though. It happens quite a lot.
NFL insider would rather have Kyler Murray than Indianapolis Colts' Daniel Jones (but he shouldn't)
Rosenthal might see how well Murray can run and think, "I'd love that if I were running a team." He might be overlooking the decision-making, and that has nothing to do with Murray's past-reported penchant for wanting to play video games over studying a playbook. That's never been an issue with Jones.
Would Murray beat a healthy Jones in a foot race? Likely, though, Jones is pretty fast, too. What Murray could never claim credit for, however, is outworking and out-preparing Jones. Indy's free agent was even praised by star running back Jonathan Taylor about knowing Shane Steichen's scheme on the first day of practice last year. That isn't Murray.
Moreover, when both are fully healthy, Murray's statistics are no better than Jones's. The soon-to-be-former Arizona Cardinals quarterback had a solid first three seasons to his career, but his last four years haven't been great. He has also missed more than a half-season in two of the last three years with injuries.
In three of the last four seasons, Murray has a quarterback rating of 89.4 or worse. Not good. His best season in the last four has a QBR of 93.5. In terms of total QBR (which factors in rushing, avoiding sacks, and several other things), Murray has just one season higher than 53.6 in the last four seasons.
Meanwhile, Jones has two seasons of 62.9 or higher. His quarterback rating in his first season under Steichen was 100.2. In most other areas, like career interception rate, the two quarterbacks are almost equal (Murray is 2.0 percent and Jones is 2.1 percent).
Beyond what Rosenthal believes, however, the NFL might be telling fans which quarterback is wanted more than the other. Kyler Murray is set to be released by the Cardinals ahead of free agency next week, while the Indianapolis Colts are desperately trying to bring Daniel Jones back. Where it really matters (with the Colts), Jones would rather be had than Murray, and it's not close.