The offseason for the Arizona Cardinals has been filled with talk about quarterback Kyler Murray, whether it is about his leadership, his agent’s contract manifesto, his contract demands, his future or whether he is at OTAs.
While fans worry about the contract situation and whether or not it will affect how Murray plays, teammate and starting left tackle D.J. Humphries isn’t worried.
Speaking to the media after practice this week on Monday, Humphries explained that former Cardinals offensive lineman Andre Smith once told him he should never be surprised by anything in the NFL. He maintains that approach.
“Nothing that the league can show me is something that I haven’t seen before as surprising,” Humphries said. “I just see it all as a part of business. Certain stuff has got to go a certain way for both parties to be happy and they’ll figure it out. I stay out of stuff like that. I don’t want anyone in my business when I’m talking about stuff.”
This has been the same thing that has been said by coaches and players. Murray’s status is not a distraction. It is not a problem. He has the support of his teammates, despite what people might think.
“I support my guy all the way,” Humphries added. “That’s my quarterback.”
He took things further, making it clear that he knows that Murray is part of the Cardinals’ present and future.
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“If you’ve been in this building and you’ve seen us play, when ‘1’ (Murray) goes, that’s what it looks like. There’s no question of that.”
Humphries, entering his eighth NFL season, has seen the good and the bad. He saw the greatness when Carson Palmer was their quarterback. He saw the struggles after Palmer got hurt and then retired.
The team believes in Murray because he gives the Cardinals “a chance.”
“You watch those games the year before he came,” Humphries said, in reference to the 2018 3-13 season when the Cardinals were the worst team in the NFL and had a historically bad offense. “His rookie year was rough as well, but we went into those games like ‘they’ve got to show us before we leave here that they’re better than us.’ We didn’t perceive it because we knew what we had in the backfield, we knew that with ‘1’ back there, we’ve got a chance.”
Humphries also dismissed the idea that Murray is lacking in command of the huddle or locker room.
“When he’s in there, he’s the guy,” Humphries said. “Everything that he puts on that film, there’s no question.”
He knows that both sides will get things done, Murray will be in the building with his teammates when he needs to be and will do great things on the field.
“I’ll say that again — if you think he’s not part of our future, you need to slow down on the drinking in the daytime.”
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