On Monday, in what could be looked at as a sign of frustration, star quarterback Kyler Murray deleted all Arizona Cardinals-affiliated from his Instagram. He also unfollowed the team as well. That’s considered the new age 2022 way of voicing one’s displeasure with something.
Murray is entering the final year of his rookie deal and maybe this is a way of getting the attention of Cardinals brass to move towards a long-term franchise QB deal, and not just picking up the fifth-year option on his current deal.
The question lingers: Are the Cardinals committed to Murray and does the franchise QB feel like he’s been put in the best situation to succeed?
Did…did Kyler Murray really scrub all Arizona Cardinals references/photos from his Instagram?!? pic.twitter.com/jATKbU1GJs
— Johnny Venerable (@JohnnyVenerable) February 7, 2022
Or could it be something else?
Rumors on social media began swirling following Sunday’s Pro Bowl. He threw a touchdown pass to fellow Lone Star state legend and Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans, and the thought of him replacing Tom Brady began to ring loud. While other social media rumors had him joining the Pittsburgh Steelers, replacing Ben Roethlisberger. Right now, it’s all speculation, with Murray under contract for next season and possibly the following season as well.
Cardinals Collapse
The Arizona Cardinals began the 2021-22 season at (7-0) and looked like Super Bowl contenders. Convincing road wins at Tennessee, Cleveland and the NFC champion Rams had the Cardinals looking like a team that could make a run at Super Sunday. Following that sizzling start the Cards went (4-7) the rest of the way, including a blowout wildcard playoff loss to those same Rams.
Injuries to key players Murray, WR DeAndre Hopkins and defensive standouts JJ Watt and Chandler Jones played a role in their demise. But the coaching and leadership or lack thereof by Kliff Kingsbury and staff didn’t seem to help matters.
Kingsbury’s teams have always done swan dives late in the season, even from his time at Texas Tech where he went an underwhelming (35-40) during his tenure. He might not be the guy to get the most out of the diminutive dynamo and this season has obviously strained their relationship a bit.
Murray Recently Talked About The Team: Plans For Next Season
Murray put up solid numbers last season, passing for 3,787 yards, 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He did miss a few games and looked hobbled in others due to a nagging ankle injury. He also completed 69.2% of his passes. Using his elite dual-threat abilities he also rushed for 423 yards and five more touchdowns.
In a recent interview with azcardinals.com Murray had this to say about his offseason plans ….
Startin’ 2022 off right w/ my guys! @AZCardinals pic.twitter.com/Soky1TkDzh
— Kyler Murray (@K1) January 3, 2022
“I wouldn’t go into too much into detail, but just get better. I think there are a lot of things we all need to address individually. Team-wise we understand kind of what happened, how we get there. We’ve got to do it together. Obviously everyone has to work hard individually. When we come together we’ve got to be ready, because it doesn’t get any easier. We’ve made strides throughout the three years I’ve been here but haven’t reached that ultimate goal.”
When asked what happened after the team’s (10-2) start, Murray didn’t have any keen insight to offer.
“I wish I could tell you. I wish I could tell you.”
The offseason is always the time for everyone to get things off their chest, reevaluate the past season and determine what needs to be done to accomplish success moving forward. Murray is just getting some things off his chest because he knows that the 2022-23 season is going to be a make-or-break one for the Kyler, Kliff Klingsbury experiment.
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