This past weekend, ESPN’s Chris Mortensen suggested that there was acrimony between the Cardinals and QB Kyler Murray, with “sources” describing the quarterback as a self-centered, immature finger-pointer. Well, Murray is now firing back via Twitter, saying he’s not about “this nonsense.”
[RELATED: Acrimony Between Cardinals, Kyler Murray?]
“I play this game for the love of it, my teammates, everyone who has helped me get to this position that believed in my [and] to win championships,” Murray wrote. “All of this nonsense is now 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.”
While the weekend report was clearly aimed at Murray (with Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com describing it as a “bizarre hit job”), it also acknowledged that the frustration wasn’t one-sided. Rather, Mortensen reported that Murray had his own issues with the organization and was embarrassed by how the Cardinals’ season ended. The quarterback also scrubbed all mentions of the organization off his social media.
While Murray is now firing back, it still seems unlikely that this is heading towards a divorce. Mortensen said the organization remains committed to the former first-overall pick, and head coach Kliff Kingsbury plans to do some “self-scouting” in an effort to provide Murray with “better alternatives.” Temporarily, this growing tension could play a role in a potential Murray extension; with three years of service time under his belt, the quarterback is now extension-eligible, and it will be interesting to see if player and team are willing to commence extension talks at this point.
Murray needs to quit being such a baby.
A good portion of NFL quarterbacks are difficult, selfish and expect things to bend their way. Aaron Rodgers, Peyton and Eli Manning, Russell Wilson and Tom Brady are all demanding players.
Difference is, they all have coaches who work to build relationships with them and know their worth.
Coaches who expect quarterbacks to bend to their will always fail.
A coach who says he is looking for alternatives through an anonymous hit job isn’t a coach worth having.
Demanding, maybe, but which of those four QB’s would ever delete all mention of their team from social media? That’s a 7th grader lashing out.
Planting a story to complain about your QB is a 6th grader lashing out. And if you think Kingsbury didn’t authorize it, you a lying to yourself.
You realize he and the coach go back to college together and said he would draft the kid first overall if he had the pick, which he got, and which he did.
I sincerely doubt it was a hit job by the coach considering their history and going all in on the kid.
If it wasn’t done without Kingsbury’s knowledge, then Kingsbury has a problem with keeping his ship tight. It’s bad either way.
The first sign that a team is headed in the wrong direction is anonymous finger pointing through the media.
You all are more than ready to throw Murray under the bus, but ignore the fact that a story like this doesn’t get out unless immaturity is rampant through the building. This IS finger pointing. And that is on Kingsbury, directly or indirectly.
How do they go back to college together exactly? They were never a part of the same team in the 3 years Murray was in the NCAA.
Lol, are you insinuating that Kingsbury planted/authorized a story through the media to complain about Murray? If I’m reading this incorrectly I apologize
If you honestly believe this, then may god have mercy on your soul
I think the better alternatives comment was to find more weapons for the offense.
Rodgers I get, Brady I get, but I fail to see what the Manning’s did to be to their organizations to be considered difficult. Wilson maybe, but the argument that he has a coach that respects an knows his worth is arguable too.
Well, in Eli’s case, I guess it depends on which of his organizations you mean.
No, it doesn’t. It would just be San Diego
All Murray needs is a New Head Coach.
Wrong
Kliff Kingsbury hasn’t done anything to deserve the respect he gets.
Good coaches don’t put out hit jobs through the media to air grievances. That is the sign of a dysfunctional staff.
Now who’s being naive now when you say Coaches don’t manipulate the media to get their message across…..Bill Parcells did that every day he was a coach not only on the Giants, but Patriots, Cowboys, Dolphins etc…..come on man.
Didn’t kingsbury take the job w the intent of drafting murray? Kingsbury is obsessed w him but he’s not a good enough coach for him? Bummer dude
Coached him in college.
What are you even talking about? He didn’t coach him in college. You should probably avoid talking about something you clearly are clueless about…..
As much as I think Kingsbury is in over his head as an NFL head coach, he didn’t make Murray throw that bizarre interception from his own end zone in the playoff loss to the Rams.
With that terrible game as his last on the resume…maybe Murray should just keep his mouth shut for now….talk when you win and do something spectacular!
The dude would rather be playing baseball, but couldn’t turn down the money.
“Love me or hate me but I’m going to continue to grow and get better.”
Looking forward to Murray be listed as 6’2″ next season.
Ability of a QB. Personality of a WR
When the NFL changed the rules in the early 2000’s to open up the passing game by pretty much allowing offensive linemen to hold, along with outlawing the defense from chucking a receiver until he got 5 yards past the line of scrimmage, the entire game changed in ways they had not imagined.
What the rulemakers didn’t take into account is that while it would make so-so QB’s good, it would make above average QB’s into greats. No longer could a team with a devastating D and a ‘don’t turn the ball over QB’ win a Super Bowl as the Ravens did and the Patriots did in Brady’s semi-first year. Since then all teams that make the Super Bowl have a superior QB that throws the ball. A lot.
The comments here from more than half the fans of teams around the NFL are upset because they know their team doesn’t have a superior QB, and have no chance of getting one anytime soon. Meanwhile, owners, FO’s, and coaches have to suck up to the teams QB and sooth any anxiety the man might be feeling.
Teams used to be able to win championships with some combination of a rushing game and a strong defense, along with a QB that could throw for 150-200 yards. No longer. It’s a pity that fans in so many markets know full well their team is not going to be a Super Bowl contender for years. The NFL is all about entertainment, image, and narrative – it used to be about solid football, solid players and balanced strategies.
2015 Broncos, 2017 Eagles, 2018 Rams, and 2019 49ers are all examples of recent teams that made the Superbowl without a “superior” quarterback. I do agree it is more difficult than in years past, but impossible is a stretch. Bear in mind that Blake Bortles was almost carried into the big game in 2018 by Jacksonville’s devastating D
Florio is always going to take the player’s side in an organizational dispute. He wants to get them to agree to interview with him, which is something most players don’t care about. So any “reporting” he does is unimportant. He enjoys calling out “unnamed sources” but uses them on every story, and fills the rest, like the above linked article, with his own opinions and deductions. He is an opinion monger who would be completely irrelevant if NBC hadn’t picked him to do their blog. Guy gets on my nerves.
That aside, Murray does seem to be at the least extremely self-confident, and at the most very full of himself. I’m sure whomever said what they did knew that before leaking that knowledge. It seems believable to me, but without sources and a traceable credential it would be wrong to take it as fact. Murray, however, did not help his case with his social media decisions. If he didn’t want to play a rumor game, he should not have started a gossip inclined story to start.
Kingsbury is and has always been the same kind of coach-that is, a stay star who can get big numbers on offense, but not much else. The Cards knew that, and went through with their silly rebuild anyway, and then patted themselves on the back too early when Murray came along. Thing is, as dumb as tearing your organization for one player is, their problem is not the effort they put in. They hired Kingsbury FOR Murray. The offense they run is all built for him. They traded for Hopkins, who has bailed Murray out countless times (including the Hail Mary throw against Buffalo), signed A.J. Green, rebuilt their offensive line, signed James Conner, etc. Kingsbury’s a mediocre coach overall, but Murray himself has to get better as a passer. He makes hairbrained decisions in the pocket, misses reads, and relies entirely too much on his athletic ability to save throws or scramble.
This is not all on the Cardinals when it comes to Murray’s own effectiveness. The Cardinals were dumb to rebuild their team (a year after another rebuild) entirely around a single player, let alone a scrambling quarterback with possible personality issues and possible short shelf life. But they put effort into it. If that’s what Murray’s mad about it, he should rethink his position.
Yeah, it seems like a lot of commenters are leaning toWard one side or the other when in reality, management, coaching, and player need to check themselves.
As you stated, Murray needs to be more willing to spread the ball and be patient in the pocket. Kingsbury needs to learn to adapt; there’s a reason his teams always happen to tail off toward the end of the season. Finally, Kiem needs to surround Murray with more stable pieces in the draft instead of relying solely on big name veteran free agent signings. Everyone needs to relax their ego, take a step back, and work as a team. I have doubts, however
You make it sound like building a NFL team around the QB is something most teams don’t do…. When in reality it’s what almost every team does
Apparently not. The most recent Super Bowl champions traded away the quarterback they “built around” and won it in their new QB’s first year. Building around a quarterback is good to some degree, but when the team is completely dependent on that quarterback to function, it’s a liability…especially when that quarterback has his own deficiencies to address.
Building around the QB position is different than complementing the QB position. If you build around the QB, you should at least make sure that your system can be run by an alternate so you have options if something goes wrong. In any case, tearing up your entire team a year after drafting a QB in the first round is always a mistake, because it forces your hand to make sure everything has to be perfect, from your coaching, to your roster, to the new QB himself to make your investment worth it. Obviously these things weren’t perfect in Arizona.
Kyler Murray is my boys favorite player. I want to get him a signed, game-worn Kyler Murray jersey for him to play flag football with his buddies in.
Problem is, he’s 8, and I don’t want him growing out of it by next spring…
Maybe frame the signed game-worn one and get him a regular Murray jersey or shirsey to run around in and get dirty
Absolutely hilarious mate
Midgets can’t ball, try horse racing
Russ Wilson and a 2nd for Murray? I’d do it in a heart beat if I were the Cards
The list of teams Wilson said he’d accept a trade to: Dallas Cowboys, New Orleans Saints, Las Vegas Raiders and Chicago Bears.
Can your Madden team fire you? If so this will get you fired.
You have to be joking right? They Wouldn’t do that trade straight up let alone start adding draft picks