Arizona Cardinals star quarterback Kyler Murray sparked questions about his future with the franchise last week, after he scrubbed all team-related posts from his social media and unfollowed the Cardinals on Instagram. The action hinted at friction between both parties, and according to an ESPN report, he believes he's been "framed as the scapegoat" for Arizona's humiliating wild-card round loss.
Murray addressed the rumors and broke his silence via Twitter on Monday, saying in part, "All of this nonsense is not what I'm about, never has been, never will be. Anyone who has ever stepped between those lines with me knows how hard I go." Arizona also issued its own statement following the ESPN report, saying, "Nothing has changed regarding our opinion and high regard for Kyler Murray." In the court of public opinion, drama has emerged.
"I've heard from people today that, yeah, he regrets [social media scrubbing]. I heard from people that basically said he made a mistake, he's embarrassed that it all came out this way," Arizona sports radio host John Gambadoro told The Zach Gelb Show on Tuesday. "That's kind of what I've heard -- we'll see. Time will heal all these wounds, and if they do a contract extension with him, maybe at some point, this'll all be forgotten.
"But if he goes into next season with no contract and plays out the year, then something's going to be rehashed. There's going to be, 'Remember when he scrubbed his account? Is there bad blood between him and the Cardinals?' I've talked to so many players and former players, especially -- they don't like his body language on the sideline. They don't like that he took himself out of the game in the playoffs for the last two snaps... That's just not a good look."
Murray's first NFL playoff game was a nightmare. The third-year starter threw for just 137 yards with two interceptions in the Cardinals' ugly 34-11 wild-card loss to the eventual champion Los Angeles Rams, marking the end to a year in which Arizona was the last undefeated team. His dreadful efforts included a careless interception for a blooper-reel pick-six, and overall, he completed only 19 passes and produced a career-low 40.9 passer rating.
During the Cardinals' seven-game winning streak from mid-September to late October, Murray posted six triple-digit passer ratings. After Week 8, however, he reached that mark just twice. For the season, Murray threw for 3,787 yards with 29 all-purpose touchdowns, 423 rushing yards, 10 interceptions, and 13 own fumble recoveries. According to Spotrac, he's scheduled to earn a base salary of $965,000 next season, but with bonuses factored in, his total cap hit will be $11.3 million.
The entire Murray-Cardinals conversation between Gambadoro and Gelb can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow The Zach Gelb Show on Twitter @ZachGelb and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.