A shocking development in the desert: Arizona Cardinals general manager Steve Keim is taking an indefinite leave of absence to attend to a health-related issue, the organization announced Wednesday.
Cardinals vice president of player personnel Quentin Harris and vice president of pro personnel Adrian Wilson will handle Keim’s duties during his time away from the team. The team declined further comment at this time.
Arizona Cardinals GM Steve Keim Takes Leave Of Absence
News of Keim’s medical issue is just the latest blow to a reeling Cardinals team. Their nationally televised loss to the New England Patriots Monday night was Arizona’s third straight and seventh in nine games. Franchise quarterback Kyler Murray faces a long recovery after rupturing his ACL in that game. And coach Kliff Kingsbury has to be feeling the heat after a third season that has fallen well short of the organization’s goals.
Keim is in a precarious position at the moment. The Cardinals are 4-9 on the season and have disappointed for years despite Murray playing well enough to earn a massive extension. Talent issues have plagued the team, and their best players came from outside of the draft, with very few of their stars on rookie deals.
Over the past five years, the Cardinals have generated a winning percentage of just .404, the lowest among any team with a general manager whose tenure has been longer than five years.
Still, Keim has done a lot for the team since ascending to the GM position in 2013; they’ve made the playoffs three times and have had some of the best offenses in the NFL in his tenure.
Keim has overseen the tenures of three coaches and is responsible for some of the best moves in the NFL, including trading David Johnson and a second-round pick for DeAndre Hopkins and trading a sixth-round pick and seventh-round swap for Carson Palmer, which Bruce Arians called the “trade of the century.”
Notably, Keim also traded for Chandler Jones from New England for a second-round pick and Jonathan Cooper and signed Jones to a team-friendly five-year deal for $82 million. Keim’s best draft picks include Murray, Tyrann Mathieu, Budda Baker, and David Johnson.
Wilson, a five-time Pro Bowl safety who played 12 seasons for the Cardinals, has worked in the Cardinals’ scouting department since his retirement. Harris likewise made the transition from the Cardinals’ secondary to their front office.
— Adam H. Beasley and Arif Hasan