Cardinals' Kyler Murray wants to throw more, run less in 2021 NFL season

According to FFToday.com stats, Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray finished the 2020 NFL season with 819 rushing yards, second behind only Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens among signal-callers. While such production is a bonus for any offense, Murray understands he puts himself at risk each time he exits the pocket to try to make a play using his speed and elusiveness. 

Per Kyle Odegard of the Cardinals' website, Murray aggravated a previous shoulder injury against the Seattle Seahawks in mid-November and wasn't the same player through early January and Week 17. The 23-year-old suggested on Thursday he wants to focus more on winning games with his arm moving forward:

"Honestly, the way I see it is, my legs should be a luxury. And it kind of wasn't like that last year. It was me having to run for us in a sense. Once my shoulder was banged up and I wasn't trying to put myself out there and take those hits, we hit a lull. Honestly, I think it was a lesson for us. We can't be one-dimensional. We've got to be better in all aspects of the game." 

Arizona adding veteran wide receiver A.J. Green via free agency and then drafting Purdue Boilermakers star Rondale Moore should help keep Murray from feeling he repeatedly needs to generate home-run moments on his own, and it remains possible future Hall of Famer Larry Fitzgerald could return to serve as a safety blanket for the third-year pro. 

Perhaps having to run less would keep Murray from dreaming about playing baseball professionally.