You never truly know how much stock, if any, to put into what an athlete does to their social media bio. But when Kyler Murray took the time to completely delete any and all traces of the Arizona Cardinals from his, that's something you pay attention to. The two-time Pro Bowl quarterback reduced his Instagram page to only two pictures -- neither referencing his team -- and also scrubbed his Twitter, including changing his avi to one that features him in an Oklahoma and Oakland A's jersey, and his bio simply reads two words: "It's easy!"
Oh, if only it were, because his digital actions put the Cardinals in a very real public relations bind, made more difficult by Murray's agent refusing to comment on why the QB did what he did. And while the organization had also yet to make a public statement about it, that changed on Super Bowl Sunday, considering there are now rumblings beginning to filter out of the desert that are nothing short of concerning.
Murray, who saw his postseason end in humiliating fashion at the hands of the Los Angeles Rams on Super Wild Card Weekend, is reportedly frustrated with the Cardinals and embarrassed at how the season ended -- the latter allegedly aimed at the team and not himself -- per Chris Mortensen of ESPN. Mortensen claims sources paint Murray as a self-centered, immature finger-pointer who believes he's being used as a scapegoat for whatever he quietly views might be the real cause of the Cardinals demise in 2021, having also suffered a collapse in 2020 after a promising start to the season.
Thanks for signing up!
Keep an eye on your inbox.
Sorry!
There was an error processing your subscription.
Additionally, it's reported that veterans are reaching out to Murray in an attempt to help him learn to deal with adversity and head coach Kliff Kingsbury is working to see what more he can do to help the young quarterback.
"Nothing has changed regarding our opinion and high regard for Kyler Murray," said the team in an official statement, via Pro Football Talk. "We as a team and Kyler individually have improved each year he's been in the league. We are excited to continue that improvement in 2022, and are excited that Kyler Murray is the quarterback leading us."
Needless to say, there's plenty of blame to spread around after seeing the 34-11 shellacking laid upon them by the Rams, and that includes Murray as well, who finished the day completing just 19 of 34 pass attempts for 137 passing yards and no touchdowns to two interceptions (40.9 passer rating).
Both sides are going to have to take a long, hard look in both the mirror and across the table at each other before this offseason truly gets underway, because the Cardinals need to decide if they'll exercise the fifth-year option on Murray's contract (seems a no-brainer they will do just that) while knowing Murray is likely also frustrated at the fact he'd like to get the details of his second NFL contract finalized sooner than later -- he's set to earn just $965,500 in base salary in 2022 -- but that will only happen if the Cardinals are willing to take a bigger cap hit for a new deal before they feel they have to.
It was only two short months ago that Murray and the Cardinals were flying high with a league-best record of 10-2 in early December, before losing five of their final six games (including the aforementioned playoff loss) to hurl them into the offseason, one that's now filled with some unexpected controversy between them and their franchise quarterback.
Kyler Murray social media scrub fueled by Cardinals QB's frustration, embarrassment, per report - CBS Sports
Read More
No comments:
Post a Comment