Kyler Murray Receives Blunt Message from Former NFL QB
Everyone has their own opinion on the Kyler Murray situation.
Some are excited, some aren’t. So it goes regarding opinions on NFL signal callers, especially polarizing ones like Kyler Murray. Personally, I’m in the camp of being quite excited about Kyler Murray, but I approach this whole situation with tempered expectations. I’m not expecting this dude to go out there and win us a Super Bowl, but I am expecting some pretty good football and fireworks on Sundays when he’s out there.
There will likely be growing pains, as Murray is having to learn a completely new offense under Kevin O’Connell. It’s notorious for being complicated, but as Kyle Sloter said on a recent episode of Vikings Playbook, once you know where the bones are buried within the system, you get it.
Former NFL QB Ryan Fitzpatrick sounded a bit hesitant on the Kyler Murray hype train, adding some interesting insight from a unique perspective on the matter recently.
Kyler Murray Conversation Gets Take from Ryan Fitzpatrick
Former NFL QB and now analyst Ryan Fitzpatrick made an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show on Wednesday, and had some interesting things to say about the Kyler Murray experiment in Minnesota. The words were beautifully transcribed by Zac Wassink of Yardbarker.
“I just think, with Kyler Murray, what are his strengths? All the things that you can measure, those are the things that he’s always been unbelievable at. I think it’s just been some of the intangibles where he has struggled, fitting into a locker room and being able to elevate a team to the next level.
So I just think in Year 1, you’re not going to have to worry about those things because they’ll take care of themselves. It’s easy in Year 1 because everything is new. As you go on in the same spot for multiple years, those things become much more important. That’s what I’m saying as to why I think this year is going to be great, but it’s going to be a one-year experiment that starts out great and tails off from there.”
Fitzpatrick doesn’t sound like he has a ton of confidence in Kyler Murray when it comes to having a strong year. It sounds like the concerns aren’t at a physical level. Instead, Fitzpatrick seems to insinuate that he doesn’t particularly believe in Murray as a leader of a team. This isn’t a new thought when it comes to dissecting the NFL tenure of Murray. As Wassink mentioned, former NFL executive Louis Riddick has questioned Kyler Murray’s commitment to football and leadership skills while playing it.
Kyler Murray Has a Reputation
As we all know, Kyler Murray’s name has a bit of a negative connotation when it comes to some football-heads. The classic and overused jokes about Call of Duty, the short jokes, the questions of commitment. They’ve all been thrown at Murray for years and they’re not gonna go away anytime soon, especially if he struggles this season with Minnesota.
In a recent interview I had with Cardinals insider Kyle Odegard on an episode of my show, The Skolcial Network, I asked Kyle if these concerns surrounding Murray were legitimate. Odegard basically denied that they were, insisting that Murray was a “quiet leader” and some guys are just like that.
Sure, it’s cool when your QB is a super loud guy like J.J. McCarthy, but what matters at the end of the day is the play on the field. Kyler Murray can freakin’ play, man. The concerns will always be there about his intangibles or how much he loves the game, but if he can produce on the field, then keep the questions coming…
…as long as Murray has an answer for them.
