The Arizona Cardinals entered the regular season poised to be a major contender in the NFC conference, buy underwhelming play, including that of quarterback Kyler Murray, has had them floundering, and Monday night’s 38-10 blowout at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers dropped their record to a horrid 4-7 record.
ESPN’s Monday Night Football telecast saw analysts such as Hall of Famer Steve Young, former Cardinal Larry Fitzgerald and former Pro Bowler Robert Griffin III, take aim at Murray, and they did not hold back.
“You pay the man $230 million, there must have been something that you saw that you liked. For me, it just seems like Kyler’s on his own sheet of music when he’s playing the game. He’s on the sidelines, he’s having arguments with the head coach. It’s like David Ruffin in The Temptations, right? And Kyler Murray is David Ruffin,” Griffin said (h/t ClutchPoints).
“I think everyone here on this panel are saying, “Please Kyler, go back to school. Tighten it up.” […] We know you can handle all of it, but you cannot be the know-it-all that’s gotten you this far but won’t get you the distance. Change your game, figure it out, so everyone can start to resonate with you,” Young chimed in.
Fitzgerald spent his entire playing career with the Cardinals, and has played with Murray as well.
“I’m hearing the conversations from all of his teammates are glowing about his leadership,” Fitzgerald said. “Leading meetings, taking ownership, he makes a mistake, saying ‘that was on me, I’m gonna get it fixed.’ That’s a big part of being a leader. At the end of the day, if you’re playing quarterback in the National Football League, it’s about leadership, it’s about getting people and galvanizing them to be able to go out there and do the things you as a team want to do, and Colt has done that.”
Yikes. That’s some harsh criticism and the MNF crew were not alone as many on sports social media ripped Murray as well, ramping up the chatter on the popular sports talk app and debating his future in Arizona.