Kyler Murray Insists Good Will Come Out Of The Cardinals' 2022 Dumpster Fire And His Major Injury
This is one of many eye-catching quotes Kyler Murray rattled off in a deep-dive piece from Arizona Cardinals reporter Darren Urban, lifted from an upcoming episode of the Flight Plan web series. It really was a complete and utter mess in the desert last season, leading to an entirely new regime this offseason.
Adding severe injury (torn ACL) to the insult of 2022 as a whole obviously sucks on top of it all. Anyone can tell by watching Kyler that he runs a little hot and has a serious competitive streak, so it's no surprise he comes off as almost defiant about shredding his knee:
"It's got to be a positive. There really is no option for it to be a negative. I feel you get your little grace period right after it happens, dwell on it, soak in it, let the feelings take over. After that, (expletive), we gotta go. Life doesn't stop. The job doesn't stop. And I'm not going to stop."
As for the turbulent relationship Kyler had with dismissed head coach Kliff Kingsbury and all the ridiculousness that transpired, he felt like a massive change was in order. Even if it created instability in the short term, it was for the best. Kyler also lamented missing out on some of the offseason while he was recovering:
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"I'm thinking of stuff that I wasn't part of, like the draft, who we were gonna get, young players coming out. The whole (last) year was (expletive). It happened for a reason. The things we were doing weren't sustainable for success. It was necessary and in turn good will come out of what happened."
Kyler isn't blameless for what happened with the Cardinals last year. When you're signing a nine-figure contract that initially features a clause requiring you to study a minimal amount of game film, it's not like you're not part of the problem. But yeah…this roster was awful. GM Steve Keim just seemed to be interested in stockpiling wide receivers and dubious, low-value position draft picks with his best assets. Keim's last three first draft picks were as follows: linebacker/safety hybrid-linebacker-tight end.
I'm so happy the Cardinals didn't hire Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo. They went with ex-Eagles D shot-caller Jonathan Gannon instead. Generally in the modern NFL, head coaches who specialize on defense are outliers. Kliff Kingsbury was more or less hand-picked for Kyler in particular. Now, if Arizona has success in the coming years, Kyler could face a revolving door of play-callers.
Then of course, there's the prevailing notion that Arizona will tank in 2023, not rush Kyler back onto the field, and potentially take USC QB Caleb Williams first overall in next year's draft. I think it'd be weird for the Cardinals to pay Kyler all that money, only to turn around and draft his replacement, especially since he's rehabbing a torn ACL right now. You won't really know what you have in Kyler until he's in a new system that isn't so derivative of the Air Raid he ran in college.
Apparently the competitor in Kyler will do everything he can to be back for the season opener:
I don't feel like Kyler has had a tremendous amount of adversity throughout his young athletic career. Now he's getting punched in the face with it, and all things considered — organizational turmoil, disappointing personal performance, the injury, etc. — he seems to be handling it well.
Can't emphasize enough how much of a 180 I've done on Kyler Murray since last season. Not everyone can be Joe Burrow, get picked No. 1, go into a losing culture and pretty much transform it overnight. Er, in a season and a half or so. Kyler and the Cardinals got off to some really strong starts even with Kingsbury at the helm, only to fall apart down the stretch. I'd think twice about penciling in Caleb Williams to Arizona. Have a funny feeling Kyler is about to stick it to the haters whenever he's back in action.
Twitter @MattFitz_gerald/TikTok