The Kyler Murray saga in Arizona keeps getting weirder.
First, Murray made headlines last week by scrubbing his social media accounts of all posts tying him to the Cardinals. Then, on Super Bowl Sunday, ESPN released a report saying the Cardinals and Murray are at odds, with sources describing the 2019 No. 1 overall pick out of Oklahoma as “self-centered, immature and someone who points fingers.”
Murray, seemingly in response to the report, posted a written statement to Twitter and Instagram on Monday, alongside a photo of him in a Cardinals jersey.
“I play this game for the love of it, my teammates, everyone who has helped me get to this position that believed in me and to win championships,” Murray said. “All of this nonsense is not what I’m about, never has been, never will be.
“Anyone who has ever stepped between those lines with me knows how hard I go. Love me or hate me, but I’m going to continue to grow and get better.”
According to the report, some Cardinals veteran players hope to reach out to Murray to help him better handle adversity. Last week, two of his teammates discussed his situation with the team.
“The guy is doing what he needs to do and I have no control over that and yeah. That’s all I’ll say on that one,” receiver Christian Kirk said to Jeff Vinton of 12 News last week. “If I’m not reacting to it, I don’t think anybody else should. But like I said, his decisions are his decisions and I’ve been off of social media but I hear the noise. So, I’m going to keep staying off of social media and just enjoy my offseason.”
Kirk, who spent one season with Murray at Texas A&M and three of his four NFL seasons catching passes from him, is one of Murray’s closest friends on the team. He was also one of Murray’s top targets in 2021, hauling in career-highs in receptions (77) and receiving yards (982).
Receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who just finished his 17th season with the Cardinals also offered his perspective last week.
“I don’t know, I haven’t talked to Kyler in a while, but, he looked good in the Pro Bowl, looked like he was having a great time throwing touchdowns out there,” Fitzgerald said when asked about Murray. “I just hope everything works out the way both sides want it to work out. That’s really what it’s all about for me. I love Kyler, I love the Cardinals and I want the best for everybody.”
Football fans in the Dallas area became familiar with Murray long before he was a household name. He first put himself on the map at Allen High School, where he finished his career as a starting quarterback with a 42-0 record and was named The Dallas Morning News’ offensive player of the year after his senior season.
After transferring from Texas A&M, Murray starred at Oklahoma, leading the Sooners to the College Football Playoff and winning the Heisman. Murray threw for 4,361 yards and 42 touchdowns that season.
The Dallas-area legend of Murray continued throughout each step in his career as he has gone a combined 8-0 with four separate teams at the Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium. Included in those wins are three state championships with Allen and a Big 12 championship with Oklahoma.
Murray led the Cardinals to an 8-0 start in 2021, but struggled down the stretch of the season as they lost four of their last five games. Their lone win, of course, came on Jan. 2 against the Dallas Cowboys — at AT&T Stadium.
“I can’t lose coming home,” Murray said. “That’s the mentality. That’s just the way how I feel. Again, it’s not just about the mentality, it’s coming out here and executing it and doing it, and guys feel great, too, when they come back here. I don’t know what it is, this stadium, the great fans. I don’t know what it is when you come back to Cowboys stadium. It’s a big-time game, that’s the feel around it. I’m glad [the guys] had my back today.”
Murray’s season didn’t end the way he nor the Cardinals wanted it to as they were blown out 34-11 in the wild card round by the Super Bowl-bound Los Angeles Rams. Murray threw for 137 yards, two interceptions and no touchdowns in the loss. He threw for 160 yards and three touchdowns as a member of the NFC team in Sunday’s Pro Bowl, where he also completed a two-point conversion to Lamb.
Murray is entering the final year of his rookie contract and Arizona has until May 2 to pick up his fifth-year option. Now that he has completed three NFL seasons, Murray is eligible to negotiate a new contract.
