Kyler Murray Unbothered by Criticism, Outside Noise

Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray says the outside noise and criticism hasn't gotten to him despite the increase in attention this year.

Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray has been under a microscope for practically his entire football career. 

From establishing himself as one of the greatest Texas high school football players ever to winning the Heisman Trophy at Oklahoma, Murray has nearly every accomplishment possible for a football player. 

After the Cardinals took Murray with the No. 1 overall pick in 2019, he's slowly helped turn Arizona into a competitive organization. 

Yet 2022 has fallen short in nearly every category, and Murray's play has come under heavy fire as a result. 

More so than usual, his actions, body language and leadership have been under said microscope thanks to various interactions with Kliff Kingsbury and DeAndre Hopkins during games. 

Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray hasn't been shy about voicing his frustrations

Arizona enters Week 14's meeting against the New England Patriots with a 4-8 record and virtually no shot of making the playoffs. 

Murray, in charge of the offense as their quarterback (with freshly paid pockets) has received more than his share of criticism for how things have gone this season.

That's how the cookie crumbles, says Murray.

“It is what it is. You understand the position that you’re in. What comes with it and what you have to face. I’m not really new to it. This is something I’ve been dealing with basically, not my whole life, but for the most part, I’ve had to deal with stuff like that, so it doesn’t affect me," he told reporters this week.

“Honestly, I don’t really see a lot of it. Obviously, it’s tough not to see it (though). Everybody’s going to tweet what they tweet, I guess. It just depends on if you’re a social media guy, if you’re really on it or if you’re not, whether or not you see it. I’m sure every athlete has seen negative (and) positive stuff about him. We all have, but you can’t let it affect you.”

The latest piece of criticism came from former teammate Patrick Peterson, who called Murray out on his podcast. 

There was a rather large back & forth between Patrick Peterson & Kyler Murray#PMSLive pic.twitter.com/yftsNZspgS

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) December 1, 2022

“Honestly, I was super shocked when I saw it because I didn’t even have Twitter on my phone," Murray said. 

"‘Quise’ (WR Marquise Brown) actually sent it to me. He asked me what I did do to him, and I said, ‘I don’t know.’ That was kind of the gist around it. I was confused.”

Murray also understands critics will come and go based on how well you're playing. 

“Obviously, our season hasn’t gone the way we’ve wanted to, so it comes a little heavier, but no. Last year when we were winning, people weren’t saying the stuff that they’re saying, but it is what it is.

“Again, I know who I am. I’ll never not be me. My confidence, all of that - none of that waivers because of what people say.”

In his Wednesday press conference, Kingsbury answered a few questions on Murray and how he's handled outside criticism:

Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury says Kyler Murray has handled off-field criticism well

On the advice he would give to a quarterback about dealing with off the field issues and outside noise:

“I think for all of us it’s one of those deals (where) if you win, they’re going to say something about you (and) if you lose, they’re going to say something about you. So it’s just making sure you’re focused on the right things. That’s controlling obviously your attitude, your effort and what you’re putting into it and the people that matter, the people that are closest to you and the people you work with every day. The rest of it is just noise.”

On how QB Kyler Murray has handled dealing with the outside noise:

“The spotlight is something he’s used to since a young age and he was kind of a phenom - baseball, football, basketball, you name it. Growing up, it was always on him, so he’s accustomed to critics and hearing different opinions and things like that. He does a nice job of just focusing on what he can control and trying to get better.”

On how much Murray has grown and developed his relationships with (Kingsbury) and GM Steve Keim:

“I think (for) all of us just the comfort level has grown over the four years that we’ve (been) together. When you make a commitment like that, we understand that he’s a big part of what’s going on. We want everybody to feel like we’re doing the right thing for all parties involved and (we) definitely want his input.”

On if the criticism Murray has faced bothers him:

“Yeah. Anytime any of our players I would say get criticized or has something come at them, as a coach, you want to get defensive and have their backs. But at the end of the day, nobody outside of this building or our meeting room really knows the truth or knows who he is like we do, so I try not to pay too much attention to it.”

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