Former NFL QB sends strong message to Cardinals' Kyler Murray amid career uncertainty

The long-term future of Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray was up in the air before team owner Michael Bidwill fired head coach Jonathan Gannon earlier in January. 

During a recent chat with former Cardinals beat writer Kyle Odegard, now of ESportsBets.com, retired quarterback and NFL analyst Shaun King suggested that Murray needs a bit of a wake-up call if the 28-year-old wants to remain a QB1 at the highest level. 

Kyler Murray should think about his legacy beyond winning the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award

"If he’s willing to really self-analyze, he’ll say, 'You know what, I don’t want to leave the game with my name not having the right legacy. I’m really going to go and grind. I’m going to fix some things. Throw the ball in rhythm from the pocket on a consistent basis. Work on ball location. Work on body language,'" King said about Murray. 

Back in January 2023, an unnamed veteran player who was with the Cardinals at the time said that "it was like they created a monster" when the franchise signed Murray to a five-year contract extension reportedly worth $230.5M with $160M guaranteed in the summer of 2022. In the summer of 2024, Murray admitted he was bothered that outsiders routinely questioned his love for the game and his dedication to the cause. 

Kliff Kingsbury was Murray's NFL head coach from the opening night of the 2019 draft up until Arizona fired Kingsbury in January 2023. King seems convinced Kingsbury failed Murray over the signal-caller's first several pro campaigns. 

"Kyler Murray would probably be a Pro Bowl quarterback if he was drafted by a regime that would have held him accountable," King explained. "Like right from the beginning. Kliff was trying to figure it out. It was his first NFL job, and he’s got this enigmatic but talented quarterback who is a little quirky personality-wise. He needed to be coached extremely hard right from the beginning. It’s my way or the highway. You’re going to do it like this, or your a— is coming over here and sitting with me. He had to break some bad habits to have sustainability in this league, and because he wasn’t held accountable to the level I think he should have been, he ended up having a little success utilizing those bad habits, so now it’s almost impossible to break him of those." 

Kyler Murray may be "fixable" in the right situation

The Cardinals haven't yet hired Gannon's replacement, so a new head coach may feel that he and his staff can jump-start Murray's career. King is among the noteworthy members of the NFL community who believe Murray may not be completely damaged beyond repair. 

"Some of the stuff with Kyler isn’t even physical," King added. "It’s like he’s that friend that’s always grumpy. Like, 'Ahh, you really want to invite him?' He’s 50-50 on being in a mood or not. And that’s your quarterback being like that. So I think there is some stuff that’s fixable, if he wants it fixed."

The "if he wants it" line could ultimately determine whether or not Arizona's new head coach or a different team gives Murray a chance to enter September 2026 as a starter.