Kyler Murray’s pointed comments about the Arizona Cardinals’ disastrous 2022 campaign appeared to rub former general manager Steve Keim the wrong way.
Days after the Cardinals quarterback offered curious remarks to the team’s website, stating in part, “I’m going to be coachable and I’m going to do it to the best of my ability, but if the s–t ain’t working, at some point, we all have to look in the mirror,” Keim opined on the phrasing of Murray’s words, not to mention the “pressure” the 25-year-old is facing after a dismal 4-13 season.
“I think in terms of quarterbacks, what he said, you don’t love it, just because of the standpoint, when he added the word ‘but’ in, generally behind a positive, the word ‘but’ does not end in a positive light,” Keim said Tuesday during an appearance on FS1’s “The Herd with Colin Cowherd.
“I certainly didn’t want to hear that. Nor do fans want to hear a guy who’s making $46.1 million a year blame anybody but himself. I’m not saying that he’s a guy that blames people, yet at the same time, when you get that bag of cash, everybody expects you to take it on your shoulders.”
Keim, who stepped away from the team in January to focus on his health, had served as the Cardinals’ GM since 2013.
He awarded Murray a five-year, $230.5 million contract extension last July.
Months later, as the Cardinals’ season continued to spiral, speculation mounted over alleged discord between Murray and then-head coach Kliff Kingsbury, who was fired earlier this year.
Murray, who is working his way back from a torn ACL suffered in December, has heaped praise on the new regime of general manager Monti Ossenfort and head coach Jonathan Gannon, expressing how he believes “good will come out of what happened” during the 2022 season.
Keim said he believes the pressure is on for Murray to perform in a critical year five.
“This is a big year. I would have actually had Kyler in my top five for guys under pressure,” Keim said.
“He’s coming off the injury. He’s got to prove himself. What happens, as what people forecast, which they have the No. 1 pick, they’re in a real predicament.”
Murray, the Cardinals’ first overall pick in 2019, has a record of 25-31-1 through 57 games played.
The Cardinals will face the Commanders in Week 1 on Sunday, Sept. 10.
