Odegard: The Cardinals Are Finally Kyler Murray’s Team
Twenty-six-year-old Kyler Murray labeled himself an older guy on Wednesday, which was a splendid thing to hear as I close in on the age of 40.
But beyond that looming existential crisis was a salient point from the star quarterback.
It took more than five years, but the Cardinals are finally his team.
“Since I got here,” Murray said, per PHNX, “I was used to playing with a lot of older guys. This is the first time I feel like I’m the older guy. That’s no knock on playing with older guys, but when you’re playing with guys around your age, it’s easier to jell.”
Murray has been visible at numerous outings with teammates this offseason, going to the NBA playoffs, Diamondbacks games and other events with guys like James Conner, Will Hernandez, Greg Dortch and Paris Johnson.
It’s a drastic departure from the narrative a couple years ago, when the locker room was divided and he was labeled a loner by a few vocal veterans.
As he alluded to in the age comment, Murray always got along well with the likes of Christian Kirk, Chase Edmonds and Trent Sherfield when he came into the league, but didn’t show deference to the old guard.
Murray wanted to compete, not kiss the ring, upon arrival, and in many ways it reminds me of the Caitlin Clark situation playing out in the WNBA right now.
Both No. 1 overall picks, both with a supreme belief in themselves and an unquenchable desire to win, with zero interest in locker room politics.
Clark is taking her lumps as the WNBA vets take aim, but with the roster almost completely overturned in Arizona, it’s clear sailing for Murray.
In fact, his personality should be quite the boon to Arizona moving forward.
Some quarterbacks feel above the team when they find success, but Murray has never exuded superiority. If you’re going to help him make a Super Bowl push, he’s happy to have you.
So the same traits that may have put him at odds with the old guys early on should make Marvin Harrison, Jr. and Darius Robinson feel at home.
“The best player on the team, you never really know how they’re going to respond, but he’s cool,” Robinson said, via PHNX. “I’m really appreciative of him, that I can talk to him about anything.”
As the unquestioned leader of the team, Murray is reveling in the new setup.
“In college, you’re around these dudes every day and you’re hanging out,” Murray said. “When you get to the league, you’ve got guys that have families – but I feel like that’s controllable. I think it’s something that if you put the effort into it, you can still kind of have that feeling.
“I know we were tight last year; I feel like this team is even more.”
This probably would have happened a year ago, but Murray had a torn ACL to overcome.
He’s always fit seamlessly with coach Jonathan Gannon, two hard-charging personalities laser-focused on winning games instead of media narratives.
Murray arrived at 21 years old, so it’s not a shock that it took some time and natural maturation to reach this point.
But there is no denying that the Cardinals seem closer-knit now than at any point in the Steve Keim-Kliff Kingsbury era, when there was a lot of sizzle that came with the steak.
Now, the GM is understated, the head coach doesn’t want distractions, the quarterback has settled in.
“There’s definitely a juice around this team, a camaraderie around this team,” Murray said.
And for the first time, it’s his team.