Byron Murphy Takes a Little Shot at His Former Team
Josh Frey
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This offseason, the Minnesota Vikings made their biggest free agency splash by signing CB Byron Murphy to help rebuild their secondary after losing Kris Boyd, Cameron Dantzler, Patrick Peterson, Duke Shelley, and Chandon Sullivan due to cuts and free agency.
Murphy, the 33rd overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, spent the first four years of his NFL career with the Arizona Cardinals. In that time, he played 56 games for the Cardinals, including 48 starts, and recorded a total of 229 tackles, 9 tackles for loss, 34 passes defended, 5 interceptions, a forced fumble, 5 fumble recoveries, and 2 defensive touchdowns.
After a spectacular season in 2021 when he intercepted 4 passes, his 2022 season was cut short by a back injury. He missed the final eight games of the season because of it.
In March, Murphy signed a two-year deal worth $17.5 million to be in Minnesota. So far, it appears that the new Vikings CB1 is enjoying his time in Minnesota as during some time with media on Friday, he threw a little shade at his old team, saying:
Last year, (was the) first time (of me) actually getting injured, sitting out that many games, kind of brought me back to reality. I’m here, I’m doing all those things. (I’m) just happy to get away from that situation. Always thankful for that team, coming from there, but I’m just here now. Excited, and happy, this is just better for me. Everything is better.
While delivering the ‘everything is better’ sentence, Murphy appeared to shoot a wink and a little grin over at KTSP’s Darren Wolfson. So, what exactly does ‘everything’ mean? Well, if we take a look at what is currently happening with the Vikings NFC rivals, it’s hard to find much that is going right.
QB Kyler Murray will likely miss a large chunk of the 2023 season due to his torn ACL, they recently released DeAndre Hopkins, and Budda Baker is probably soon to follow into the free agency market if a trade cannot be found.
From a competitive standpoint, Arizona is definitely going through a rebuild right now. Murphy isn’t the first former Cardinal to suggest that things in the desert aren’t going well. Patrick Peterson has been very open about what he thought of the culture in the Cardinals organization since leaving the team in spring 2021 to join the Vikings.
Finally, the NFL Players Association released the first “player team report cards” this offseason, and the results put a gap as big as the Grand Canyon between Arizona and Minnesota.
The Vikings were voted as the best team to play for heading into 2023 because of things such as their training facility, family treatment, nutrition, weight room, and coaches. Meanwhile, Arizona was voted 31st in the NFL, ahead of only the Washington Commanders. The Cardinals received an F or F- in the following categories:
- Treatment of Families
- Nutrition
- Weight Room
- Training Room
- Locker Room
Clearly, these are two teams heading in opposite directions right now. It’s great to see Murphy enjoying his early days with the Vikings, and hopefully, it leads to some great performances on the field this season.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.