The Arizona Cardinals have struggled a lot this season, sitting at 4-8 through 12 games, which is well outside the playoff picture currently in the NFC.
That’s not where they expected to be after inking quarterback Kyler Murray, head coach Kliff Kingsbury, and GM Steve Keim to long-term extensions this offseason, and there’s plenty of blame to go around for their woeful season thus far. After their most recent loss, blowing a fourth quarter lead to the Chargers, Murray was asked about a botched 4th and 1 play that ended in an interception and very bluntly said they were “f*cked schematically,” seemingly placing a chunk of the blame on the coaching staff.
That clip became a talking point and on Wednesday, Murray’s former teammate and current Vikings cornerback Patrick Peterson discussed that and the Cardinals’ overall struggles with Bryant McFadden on their All Things Covered Podcast. Both noted that Kingsbury was a lock to be the first fall guy for Arizona’s issues, but Peterson said he wasn’t surprised by Murray’s postgame comments because “Kyler Murray don’t care about nobody but Kyler Murray.”
Unsurprisingly, that clip got a lot of attention and even grabbed Kyler’s, who responded in a tweet saying Peterson was on some “weird shit” and called him out for saying he was a “big bro” and then trashing him “so your podcast can grow.”
This isn’t true…you on some weird shit @p2 you got my number, if you really felt like this as a “big bro” or “mentor” you supposed to call me and tell me, not drag me so your podcast can grow… https://t.co/MFqbMKh3la
— Kyler Murray (@K1) December 1, 2022
This is one of the tricky parts of the “new media,” as Draymond Green calls it, because active players talking critically of other players, particularly those they’ve played with in the past, feels much more personal than when someone else in the media does it. Kyler certainly seems to think Peterson crossed a line here with regard to the code players should follow, and it’s hard to blame him for being upset. That said, if Peterson is going to dip his toes in the media waters, these are the types of things people want to hear — blunt criticism that doesn’t hold back — and unfortunately for us, the Vikings and Cardinals already played this season.
