The Arizona Cardinals are coming off a disappointing 4-13 season. The lackluster campaign resulted in the firing of head coach Kliff Kingsbury.
The team’s longtime general manager Steve Keim, who went on indefinite leave for health reasons at the end of the season, has decided to retire to focus on his health, the club announced in January.
Two-time Pro Bowl quarterback Kyler Murray threw for 2,368 yards in 11 games in 2022, but was sidelined with injury in the final six games of the regular season. Murray faces a fair amount of criticism as he enters the 2023 season, but the quarterback recently revealed that he’ll enter this year with a different mindset.
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Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray leaves a news conference introducing Jonathan Gannon as the new head coach at Dignity Health Arizona Cardinals Training Center on February 16, 2023 in Tempe, Arizona. (Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
“I’m going to be able to train and I’m going to do my best, but if the s**t doesn’t work out, at some point we’re all going to have to look in the mirror,” Murray. he said via the Cardinals’ website.
But Keim did not appear to approve of the wording of Murray’s recent comments.
CARDENALS’ KYLER MURRAY SHRUGS FROM LOW PLACEMENT IN QUARTERBACK RATINGS: ‘I LOVE IT’
“I think in terms of quarterbacks, what he said, you don’t love it just because of the point of view when he added the word ‘but,’ usually behind a positive, the word ‘but’ doesn’t end in a positive light.” Keim said during a recent appearance on “The Herd with Colin Cowherd.”
Keim added that as the quarterback and highest-paid player on the team, Murray should be expected to take responsibility for the Cardinals’ recent failures.
“I certainly didn’t want to hear that nor do the fans want to hear a guy who makes $46.1 million a year blame anyone but himself. I’m not saying he’s a guy who blames people, but at the same time, when he takes that bag of cash, everyone expects you to carry it on your shoulders.”
General Manager Steve Keim of the Arizona Cardinals during the NFL preseason game at State Farm Stadium on August 21, 2022 in Glendale, Arizona. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Murray appeared unhappy with his contract last year and removed all references to the Cardinals from his social media page.
The team ultimately awarded him a massive five-year contract in July 2022. Murray’s work ethic became a talking point shortly after the contract was announced after the team placed an “independent study” clause. in the deal.
The Cardinals eventually removed the provision from the $230.5 million extension after the controversial provision led Murray to call criticism of his work ethic “disrespectful.”
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray scores against the Carolina Panthers during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 2, 2022, in Charlotte, North Carolina. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman)
Once the season started, speculation about the alleged feud between Murray and Kingsbury mounted.
The Cardinals hired general manager Monti Ossenfort and head coach Jonathan Gannon to run their football operations department. Murray recently spoke about how he believes “good will come out of what happened” during the 2022 season.
Murray has a career record of 25-31-1 in his 57 appearances.
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But Keim says Murray will be under pressure to have a recovery season once he is healthy enough to take the field in 2023.
“This is a great year. In fact, I would have had Kyler in my top five for guys under pressure,” Keim said. “He’s coming out of injury. He’s got to prove himself. What happens, as people predict, that they have the No. 1 pick, they’re in real trouble.”
