The list is long of those who have talked about the growth of Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray over the last 18 months, which coincided with the arrival of head coach Jonathan Gannon. Murray himself has talked about it this offseason.
Perhaps the one voice that stands out the most is the team’s sage, 35-year-old tackle Kelvin Beachum.
He was the guy that garnered headlines in March, 2023, when he said on in an interview that Murray simply needed to grow up.
“It’s not a completed process,” Beachum said. “I didn’t say he lacks leadership. I just think he needs to grow up a little bit. I think if he has the ability and willingness to grow up, he’s going to be just fine.
“They paid him for a reason. They paid him because of his talent. He has the ability to lead. When you’re in that position, we need you to lead more. You’re the face of the franchise. You have to lead in every single capacity.”
Beachum concluded, “Kyler is his own individual, he’s his own person, he beats to his own drum, which has made him what he is today. But, at the end of the day, you have to be able to lead an entire organization; you’ve got to lead a team.”
Fast forward to last week when Beachum revisited those comments on the Cardinals Corner podcast on Arizona Sports. He has been impressed with what he’s observed.
“He’s continuing to mature and he’s continuing to be what we all know he can be in this particular system and for this particular franchise. You can tell there’s a certain level of swag that’s starting to come back into his game and there’s a level of intimacy in the system that you want to see from your quarterback,” Beachum said.
“I would say he’s taken the bull by the horns and really has found a way to entrench himself in this offense and understand this offense in an intimate manner. I think that bodes well for us as a team.”
Beachum also credited what’s been put around Murray that has aided the transformation, including the scheme implemented by offensive coordinator Drew Petzing, who Murray has labeled “a genius.”
“I think this system is allowing him to thrive and do the things that he does very, very well and being able to put that on display,” Beachum said. “I think the organization has done a really good job surrounding him with pieces.
“You got an offensive line that’s done a superb job keeping him upright. Now, we gotta do that consistently throughout the year, especially with the way in which we’ve been running the ball and ran the ball last year and being able to take some of those good things into this year.”
We’ll start finding out very quickly whether the growth of Murray and the team will pay dividends after the 3-5 finish to the 2023 season after he returned from a torn ACL.
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