As the 2018 Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, much was expected of Kyler Murray coming out of Oklahoma. While leading the Arizona Cardinals, however, there have been rampant questions about his commitment and maturity, issues that have reportedly begun to subside.
Late in the 2022 season, Murray, who had signed a five-year, $230.5 million contract extension months earlier, tore his ACL, necessitating a long, arduous recovery process. The Murray who returned from injury a little over halfway through the 2023 season was about the same on the field, but off the field is where the biggest changes reportedly have happened.
Once a player who briefly had a clause in his contract that forbade him from playing video games or watching TV while studying film, Murray is reportedly making strides.
“Kyler Murray's stock coming out of the 2022 season was not exactly on the rise,” ESPN's Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler wrote. “Even his supporters knew he needed a fresh start. His detractors pointed to attitude problems within the building that sparked questions about his ability to coalesce with a new regime. But since coach Jonathan Gannon and general manager Monti Ossenfort took over, they have fully supported Murray and praised him full stop. Murray has shown maturity, too, connecting more with teammates and adapting to a new offense under coordinator Drew Petzing.”
Jonathan Gannon, who became the Cardinals' head coach before the 2023 season, said Murray has matured and that the two have a good relationship.
“I think, probably a little on his end, it's maturity, getting hurt, getting a little bit older and coming out of the first part of his career, he was very open to changing some of the parts of his game for the betterment of the team,” Gannon said via ESPN. “He's been fantastic. If you lay something out and it relates to winning, he'll do whatever you want with it.”
Kyler Murray entering big season with Cardinals
With Kyler Murray still recovering from his ACL injury, the Arizona Cardinals had very, very little success. In the first nine games of the 2023 season without Murray, Arizona went 1-8, culminating in 27-0 loss to the Cleveland Browns in Week 9 where the Cardinals recorded just 17 passing yards, 58 total offensive yards, and seven first downs.
The next week, Murray returned and the Cardinals earned their second victory of the season, a 25-23 win over the Atlanta Falcons. Murray led the Cardinals' offense down the field in about two minutes to set up a 23-yard Matt Prater field goal as time expired.
While the Cardinals still struggled the rest of the way — 2-5 in their final seven games of the season — Arizona should be more competitive this season, Gannon's second as head coach and Murray's first with a training camp since his injury two years ago. Arizona opens its season at the Buffalo Bills on Sept. 8.
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