Earlier this week, quarterback Kyler Murray scrubbed all mentions of the Cardinals from his social media — deleting Arizona-related posts and unfollowing the organization.
Murray’s agent declined comment on the situation, which added fuel to the speculation that something was amiss between Murray and the organization.
On Sunday, ESPN’s Chris Mortensen created a Sunday splash with his report that, “The odd vibe between the Cardinals and Kyler Murray is indeed alarming: Murray is described as self-centered, immature and finger pointer, per sources.”
Mortensen added that Murray is frustrated with the franchise, embarrassed by the playoff loss to the Rams, and thinks he’s been framed as the scapegoat. But per the report, the Cardinals expect things to calm down with Murray as their quarterback.
In response to the report, the Cardinals issued a statement:
“Nothing has changed regarding our opinion and high regard for Kyler Murray,” the statement reads. “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.”
Murray and the Cardinals started the 2021 season hot, beginning the season 10-2. Murray was also regarded as an MVP candidate early on.
But the Cardinals lost four of their last five games to end the regular season, losing their grip on the NFC West to go 11-6 for the NFC’s No. 5 seed. Then the club had an embarrassing 34-11 loss to Los Angeles in the wild card round.
In 14 games this season, Murray completed 69 percent of his passes for 3,787 yards with 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He also rushed for 423 yards and five TDs.
The No. 1 pick of the 2019 draft, Murray is eligible for a contract extension this offseason. It shouldn’t be much of a decision, but the Cardinals will also choose whether or not to pick up Murray’s fifth-year option in the spring.