Kyler Murray is not the most gregarious athlete in the NFL, preferring to work in silence than with a camera in his face.
So it was notable last week when the Cardinals’ quarterback allowed the organization to spend several days with him at multiple locations, giving fans a behind-the-scenes look at his rehabilitation from a torn ACL.
Murray was introspective throughout a 21-minute Flight Plan episode, showing a side rarely seen by the public.
👀👀👀#CardsFlightPlan: '𝐋𝐨𝐚𝐝𝟏𝐧𝐠…' airs TONIGHT at 7 on YouTube pic.twitter.com/CMJ9BmqmAR
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) July 13, 2023
The reception was almost unanimously positive, as the public lauded the 25-year-old for his growth — until a certain former GM of the Cardinals went on the Colin Cowherd show Tuesday and made a mountain out of a molehill.
Steve Keim was asked about a quote from Murray that seemed innocuous enough (so innocuous that I don’t even remember the portion of Flight Plan in which he said it.)
Murray was speaking about adversity and how he and the team must handle it.
“I’m going to listen, I’m going to be coachable, and I’m going to do it to the best of my ability,” Murray said. “But if the shit ain’t working, at some point we all have to look in the mirror.”
Keim took umbrage with it, saying he didn’t want to hear such a thing from a player who is making franchise quarterback money.
“I think in terms of quarterbacks, what he said you don’t love it, just because of the standpoint when he added the word ‘but’ in, generally behind a positive the word ‘but’ does not end in a positive light,” Keim said. “I certainly didn’t want to hear that. And nor do fans want to hear a guy who’s making $46.1 million a year blame anybody but himself.”
“I’m not saying he’s a guy that blames people. Yet at the same time, when you get that bag of cash, everybody expects you to take it on your shoulders, and that’s what a franchise quarterback does. This is a big year. I would have actually had Kyler in my top five for guys under pressure, because if they do have a tough year, he’s coming off the injury. He’s got to prove himself. What happens, as what people forecast, that they have the No. 1 pick, they’re in a real predicament.”
"He's coming off the injury. He's got to prove himself… They're in a real predicament."
— Steve Keim tells @ColinCowherd why Kyler Murray is under pressure in Arizona pic.twitter.com/GgTjoJZbRI
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) July 18, 2023
There’s a lot to unpack from that mini-rant, but my main takeaway is this: Keim has spent multiple interviews jabbing at Murray since being fired as general manager, while the current regime has done nothing but rave about him.
The anonymous in-house potshots at Murray have been eliminated since January, so it probably doesn’t take a rocket scientist to conclude that Keim was involved in trashing his signal-caller through the media last year, which started an organizational crumbling that ended with myriad firings and a complete revamp.
While Keim is coming off like a bitter ex, Murray and the new regime are clicking well and excited to build a stable long-term future together.
It was illustrated well in Flight Plan, with video of the Cardinals’ coaching staff in Oklahoma for Murray’s Heisman Trophy statue unveiling, and Murray’s glowing post-trip comments about Jonathan Gannon and his staff.
The whole setup oozes a level of professionalism that had been missing for years, which is something NFL insider Jordan Schultz talked about when I spoke to him about Keim in December.
“I think they definitely need a switch at GM,” Schultz said then. “Until they get someone running the team that is able to present professionalism and class and consistency, they’re going to be mired in this rut.”
NFL insider Jordan Schultz had a biting article about Steve Keim on Friday.
I caught up with him today for a more in-depth conversation about the Cardinals’ GM and organization.https://t.co/BF7Y2RtUi1
— Kyle Odegard (@Kyle_Odegard) December 12, 2022
It’s a little weird that Keim holds such a grudge, because Murray was directly responsible for saving his job in 2019, and then getting Keim a contract extension prior to the 2022 season, however ill-fated that decision was by owner Michael Bidwill.
Keim’s personnel moves his final year were disastrous, forgoing outside free agents while overpaying veterans like running back James Conner, tight end Zach Ertz and wide receiver A.J. Green.
Keim is the one who says Murray should shoulder the blame, but seems to do little of that himself despite constructing a roster so bad that Monti Ossenfort had to rip it down to the studs upon his January hire.
Murray has been open with his shortcomings, and seems to be traveling on the natural maturation arc of anyone in their mid-20s.
Keim is 50 and is not showing the same type of growth, preferring to repeatedly criticize a player who he signed to that lucrative long-term deal less than a year ago.
If Kyler allegedly had so many issues, why would Keim do the extension?
These comments reek of self-preservation and passing the buck, but Cardinals fans aren’t buying it any longer.
Murray, the team and the fanbase are in a good place despite low expectations for 2023.
While Keim can continue to scream into the void, luckily, he is no longer affecting the team’s fortunes with his actions.
