Nick Bosa Warned Cardinals About Kyler Murray

Former Arizona Cardinals GM Steve Keim says Nick Bosa warned the team before drafting Kyler Murray over him in the 2019 NFL Draft.

Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray has been a polarizing figure before he landed in the desert. Take a trip in a time machine prior to the 2019 NFL Draft, where concerns about Murray's commitment to the game of football and height/size were debated daily against his athleticism and arm talent. 

The Cardinals - sitting with the No. 1 overall pick at the time - were thought to be deciding between Murray and eventual San Francisco 49ers DE Nick Bosa, a productive pass-rusher that would surely land within the division if Arizona didn't take him.

As fate would have it, Bosa would go No. 2 to San Francisco after Arizona stuck with Murray, drafting their second quarterback in the top ten after taking Josh Rosen the year prior. 

While Murray has taken the Cardinals to a playoff appearance after helping the organization build their record up through the years, it's tough to look at Bosa's success and play the "what if?" game.

Hindsight is 20/20, though Bosa did try to warn Arizona.

Former Cardinals GM Steve Keim - who drafted Murray along with first-year head coach Kliff Kingsbury - said Bosa specifically gave him a memorable warning after a pre-draft visit:

"When Kliff Kingsbury and I got together to go see players and have dinners, we went to Fort Lauderdale, FL and had dinner with Nick Bosa prior to the draft. And [we] loved him obviously, highest graded guy on the board. Amazing in every way - the only thing you had to say as a negative was probably if he had an injury in the future, which you couldn't forecast," Keim said to FS1's Colin Cowherd. 

"So we're leaving the dinner and we're walking out of Maestro's in Fort Lauderdale and I'll never forget, he puts his arm around me and Kliff Kingsbury - both of us - in basically a headlock and he said, 'I think you guys are probably gonna end up taking that little quarterback [Kyler Murray]. And if you do … I will haunt you for the rest of your career'

"Colin, me and Kliff got back into the SUV to get back to the hotel and I remember we both looked at each other with wide eyes and said, 'God I hope he can't catch him' and he really never did which was a good thing." 

Full clip:

Former #Cardinals GM Steve Keim says Nick Bosa warned him and Kliff Kingsbury after his pre-draft visit in 2019.

"I think you guys are probably going to take that little QB — and if you do — I will haunt you for the rest of your career."

(🎥 @TheHerd)pic.twitter.com/aTCGzZIhOl

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) April 21, 2023

The Cardinals believe they got their franchise quarterback and would likely make the pick again, but hearing Keim tell the story was interesting regardless. 

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