Cardinals' Kyler Murray opens up about difficult 2022

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray is ready to address all that went wrong before and during the 2022 NFL season. 

"To hit a wall Year 4, especially after going through the whole contract thing, the energy, the aura, the vibes going into the season were all negative," Murray explained during an upcoming episode of the "Flight Plan" program shared on the team's YouTube channel, per Darren Urban of the Cardinals' website. "Having to deal with all that stuff and trying to focus on football, and then I got COVID in camp, I hurt my wrist in camp so I missed a lot of reps, and having to play catch up in the season, starting with the (Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1), it was kind of a compilation of (expletive)-up things going on."

Murray and the Cardinals seemed to be on positive terms after a rocky offseason when it was learned last July the sides agreed to a five-year extension reportedly worth $230.5M with $160M guaranteed. Arizona then entered its bye week at 4-8 before Murray tore his ACL in the Week 14 clash against the New England Patriots on Dec. 12. 

Shortly after the Cardinals fired head coach Kliff Kingsbury in January, an unnamed Arizona veteran player said on the record the franchise essentially "created a monster" by paying Murray. Additional negative headlines related to Murray popped up throughout the winter and spring after the Cardinals hired Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon to replace Kingsbury.

"They are really investing in the organization and the team," Murray said about Gannon and new general manager Monti Ossenfort. The two-time Pro Bowl selection added that players want to "run through a wall for" a coach like Gannon. 

"The whole (last) year was (expletive)," Murray said. "It happened for a reason. The things we were doing weren't sustainable for success. It was necessary and in turn, good will come out of what happened."

Murray won't be running through anything for anybody anytime soon. It's thought he could miss at least half of the 2023 season recovering from his injury as he works to silence lingering criticisms about his coachability and work ethic.

"I'm going to listen," Murray insisted. "I'm going to be coachable and I'm going to do it to the best of my ability, but if the (expletive) ain't working, at some point, we all have to look in the mirror. As far as growing from my rookie year to now, learning how to be one with your emotions, understanding how to talk to people. Some people are able to take the harsh way, and I am naturally that way, or do I need to give them a little love and that's part of the quarterback position." 

2024 mock drafts such as one produced by ESPN's Jordan Reid last week continue to link the Cardinals with quarterback Caleb Williams of the USC Trojans. A regime that didn't draft Murray in 2019 may be in no rush to play the 25-year-old this fall if it has Williams on its radar before training camp.