QB Murray: Wanted Cards deal ‘the whole time’
Bart Scott worries that a weak defense will hurt Kyler Murray’s chances of leading Arizona to a Super Bowl. (1:48)
TEMPE, Ariz. — After an offseason that bordered on the tumultuous as he waited for his extension to be done, Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray said Friday, a day after agreeing to a mega deal, that he’s where he wants to be.
“My job is to fulfill my promise and bring a championship here. There’s no questions about it,” Murray said. “There’s no other place that I wanted to be this whole time. And I mean that.”
Murray largely ignored the social media firestorm that started when he deleted all photos related to the Cardinals from his Instagram account after the Pro Bowl. The 24-year-old credited a career of being in the spotlight for allowing him to not pay attention to what others were saying.
“All the social media stuff and all that, that’s gonna happen regardless,” Murray said. “Play good, they love you. Play bad, they hate you.
“It is what it is. That’s just this day and age. You gotta have tough skin. So, I’ve grown up in it. So, it’s nothing new.”
Murray said he didn’t pay much attention to the negotiations. Even as they were nearing their conclusion and a deal was imminent, Murray said it was hard for his agent to get him to crack a smile because “I’m solely focused on football.”
Cardinals general manager Steve Keim said he was able to focus more on the extension after free agency and the draft were over.
Keim said he felt both Murray and the team were satisfied with the deal, which Keim said has “some team friendly things in there that that were important to Kyler.”
“That says a lot about him as a teammate and as a competitor, that he wants good players around him, and he understands that,” Keim said. “But, at the same time, we knew that we had to reward him as well for the great play and what all he’s accomplished.”
Keim, who said he often talked with Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill on the phone at 3:30 a.m. Arizona time during the negotiations, described the expectations for Murray going forward as “extremely high.”
Keim said he and coach Kliff Kingsbury visited Murray and his parents, Kevin and Missy, who were in attendance for the news conference along with Murray’s dog, Swoosh.
“We had great communication with them, felt great about the dialogue, and understood what expectations were from both sides,” Keim said.
He later added that the talks were “really, really positive conversations about what we expected from each other.”
Murray was asked if his extension, which will keep him under contract with the Cardinals through the 2028 season, means baseball is out of the question.
Keim interjected before Murray could answer.
“Did you guys see the payroll of the Oakland A’s versus this contract?” Keim asked in response. “Enough said.”