It may have gotten lost in the chaos of Super Bowl week (and the shameless commercialism of Radio Row with athletes hawking everything from shaving kits to sandwich chains), but there’s a fascinating subplot brewing in Arizona. If you missed it, Kyler Murray recently scrubbed his social media accounts, suspiciously deleting all photos of him in Cardinals gear while also unfollowing the team on Instagram.
Many have theorized Murray is unhappy with his contract and could be angling for a trade as leverage in extension talks. Others have dismissed it as much ado about nothing, interpreting Murray’s stunt as either an elaborate troll or a clever marketing tactic, building suspense before revealing his true intentions (will Murray appear in a Super Bowl ad this Sunday?).
Of course, until we hear from the man himself, it’s hard to tell if Murray is pulling our leg or if the Cardinals have reason to worry. We saw disgruntled quarterback Aaron Rodgers make a mess of things in Green Bay last offseason and who’s to say Murray, frustrated by another late-season collapse (including the playoffs, the Cardinals lost five of their final six games), isn’t hatching a plot to wreak havoc in Arizona?
J.J. Watt, who presented his brother T.J. with the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year award Thursday night, shared a video addressing the drama, claiming Murray didn’t answer minutes earlier when he tried to FaceTime him.
“What does it mean? Are we still friends? Does he still follow me on social?” asked Watt. “Or, maybe, he’s just at dinner?”
Based on Watt’s mocking tone, whatever’s going on with Murray behind the scenes has likely been blown out of proportion, with internet sleuths theorists projecting a false narrative without knowing the full story. The Cardinals have taken a similarly cavalier approach, poking fun at the situation by deleting all but two Instagram posts (both are photos of Murray). Some have speculated the Cardinals are teasing a uniform reveal, which would obviously put to bed any conspiracy theories regarding Murray.
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