Cardinals teammates open up about Kyler Murray amid recovery

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray seems popular among teammates amid his recovery from surgery. 

"He’s a competitor so he wants to get back out there so I know he’s going to attack it as best as he can to try to make it back out there whenever he can," Arizona wide receiver Marquise Brown said about his QB1 and close friend, per Josh Weinfuss of ESPN. 

Murray went under the knife in early January for ACL surgery that included some meniscus repair after he suffered his injury during a game against the New England Patriots on Dec. 12 and has since repeatedly been in headlines for negative reasons. 

An anonymous Arizona player said this past winter it was like the Cardinals "created a monster" when they gave Murray a lucrative contract extension last summer, and offensive tackle Kelvin Beachum later mentioned he thought the 25-year-old "needs to grow up a little bit." Certain head coach candidates allegedly avoided the Arizona opening due to not wanting to be attached to Murray's deal, and others around the league viewed the job as undesirable because of the signal-caller's presence. 

Those inside the Cardinals locker room indicated Murray has approached his rehab like a true team leader and offensive CEO. 

"It’s been fun to see because it’s like you get to see something different from your guy," left tackle D.J. Humphries noted about what he witnessed from Murray this spring. "It’s like, 'Dang, I ain’t even know that was your makeup cause I’ve never seen you do it,' and now it’s like, 'OK, I see who you are. I get a little bit more understanding of who you are and why you are the way you are,' and it’s been cool for me. I’ve been loving it to be around him a bunch."

It's unknown when Murray will receive clearance to face live defenses. If the first overall pick from the 2019 NFL Draft needs a full 12 months to recover from his setback, a Cardinals team possibly heading toward finishing the 2023 season with the league's worst overall record theoretically could shut him down until next spring. 

For now, Murray is endearing himself to teammates with what Humphries referred to as a "pretty hilarious" personality. 

"I was a Kyler Murray fan before," Humphries added. "I'm a big Kyler Murray fan now, though, for sure." 

Whether or not such feelings will last once Murray is healthy and back atop the depth chart shall be seen.