Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray has an old friend as a teammate again. The Cardinals acquired receiver Marquise Brown in a trade on Thursday. Brown played with Murray at Oklahoma and the two were close.
They still are close and have been working out together, but Murray was not aware that the trade was going to happen.
General manager Steve Keim said he did not tell Murray about the possibility of the deal “because of the sensitivity of (his) discussions with the Ravens.”
He also indicated that Brown “couldn’t tell Kyler.”
Brown confirmed that when he was introduced to the media Friday.
The deal did not happen overnight. Keim said he and Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta “had ongoing conversations for some time.”
Brown revealed he and Murray had talked about the possibility of playing together back in January and February. Things became potentially real more recently.
“For the longest, I didn’t think it was possible, but last week I knew it was a possibility,” Brown said, mentioning there were other teams that entered the picture.
Brown kept the news from Murray until the announcement was made.
“He knew it possibly could happen, but he didn’t know it actually did happen,” Brown said. “He was checking in trying to get the scoop, but I just had to ‘I don’t know, Kyler. I’m trying to find out.’
“I could have (told him), but I kind of wanted it to be a surprise for him as well.”
It was a welcome surprise for Murray.
What was his reaction?
“Texts of fireballs,” Keim said.
In 2018, when Murray won the Heisman as Oklahoma’s starting quarterback, Brown had 75 receptions for 1,318 yards and 10 touchdowns.
While Murray didn’t know the deal was happening, if you ask him, he will claim he caused it.
“He definitely was like, ‘I did this.’ Definitely,” Brown said.
However it went down, this will be a fun ride for them and for fans.
[listicle id=467663]
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.
Latest show:
Previous shows:
and