Days away from hitting the free agent market, Cardinals offensive lineman Kelvin Beachum had a pointed evaluation of Kyler Murray. Beachum said the star quarterback “needs to grow up a little bit,” which raised eyebrows considering the source.
Beachum ended up re-signing with the Cardinals and will block for Murray again whenever the quarterback returns from rehabbing a torn ACL.
Beachum told NFL Media on Friday that there is no awkwardness and no animosity between he and his quarterback.
“There is no big deal,” Beachum said. “I think we’re grown men in an NFL locker room. I don’t think there’s any hard feelings that comes from this. I would expect that he would hold me accountable if I wasn’t doing my job. So, I think it’s grown men that have to have grown-men conversations. That’s part of this game; that’s part of playing in the National Football League.”
The Cardinals have a new coach, a new General Manager and appear headed toward a rebuild. With Murray out at least part of the season — and receiver DeAndre Hopkins and safety Budda Baker possibly on their way out — the Cardinals have a chance to contend for the No. 1 overall pick. That would make for an interesting decision for the organization with USC quarterback Caleb Williams expected to the top prospect in the 2024 draft.
Murray, 25, has a 25-31-1 record in the regular season and has only one playoff appearance in four seasons. He had the worst performance of his career in his only playoff game, a 34-11 loss to the Rams.
The Cardinals surely expected more by now after using the No. 1 overall pick on him in 2019.