The first three years of Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray’s career were marked by criticism about his dedication and work ethic. Since his injury and the change in coaching staff, that has changed. This offseason has been nothing but positive things — he works hard, he is a great leader and he said it was his best offseason yet.
And yet, this still comes up. Colin Cowherd spoke about Murray on his podcast recently.
It was about Murray being a gamer.
Cowherd said, speaking to many people around the league, the general consensus about Murray is, “No way, out,” suggesting no one would want him to be their quarterback.
Cowherd lauded his talent and play on the field, calling him a top-10 quarterback talent.
But he theorized that his reputation for playing video games is getting in the way. The stigma of gamers being a bad match blinds people from the talent.
“He’s accurate, he’s a playmaker, he got a poorly-owned franchise to the playoffs in a tough division,” Cowherd said. “I think the gaming thing is a huge stigma. I think older GMs look at it and think, ‘Jesus, grow the eff up. Like, this guy’s addicted to gaming.’”
We have heard the criticism about his study habits and lack of leadership and the finger pointing. If that was an actual issue, he has apparently grown out of it.
But Cowherd is amazed at the seeming contradiction.
“Quarterback people say he’s the best Texas high school football player ever,” he said. “He wins the Heisman. He gets Arizona to the playoffs. The fans don’t like him. The media doesn’t like him. Execs don’t like him. His owner doesn’t like him. I’ve never seen a player this talented…Nobody’s saying be patient; people bailed on him.
“My take on Kyler is, he is the most talented quarterback in my life that has no support group. I mean, Jordan Love didn’t play for three years, was terrible in September in his fourth year, and everybody was yelling, ‘Give him time.’”
Murray joined the FaZe Clan gaming team three years ago. Not much has been said about his gaming over the last couple of years.
Could the gaming reputation have tainted his reputation around the league? That very well may be the truth.
And until he does one of two things — puts up video game numbers or wins in the playoffs — he probably will carry that stigma longer.
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
