Kyler Murray is entering his sixth season since the Cardinals made him the No. 1 overall pick. Only four teammates none of them on offense, remain from his rookie season of 2019.
The other quarterbacks are younger than Murray, who turns 27 this summer.
“This is the first time I feel like I’m kind of the older guy,’ Murray said, via Darren Urban of the team website.
Murray spoke to the media Wednesday for the first time since the final game of last season. He is nearing the end of his first real offseason with head coach Jonathan Gannon and offensive coordinator Drew Petzing, having spent last year rehabbing from a torn anterior cruciate ligament that ended his 2022 season.
“It’s the natural maturation of life,” Murray said of the rollercoaster nature of the past few years. “Going into year six, am I excited? Hell yeah, I’m excited. I feel good. Just to be healthy again is a blessing. Yes, I believe in what we can do.”
Gannon said the offseason work is going to take Murray’s game “to another level.”
“Confidence and understanding where to go with the ball and knowing what [the coaches] are doing, because I have been in the system a year, when you feel like that, the sky is the limit,” Murray said. “I’ve played QB my whole life, and when you’re at that point – and I really can’t explain it – it’s a good feeling.”
The Cardinals need Murray to be Murray again. He returned to play eight games last season and acknowledged Wednesday that his knee was sore sometimes and other times the flexion wasn’t as good.
He threw 10 touchdowns and five interceptions and rushed for 244 yards and three touchdowns.
His surgically repaired knee is healthy again, but it’s “something I have to stay on” in terms of prep.
Murray hasn’t made the Pro Bowl since 2021, which was the last time the Cardinals made the postseason. They aren’t expected to again this season, but Murray’s Super Bowl aspirations remain nonetheless.
“I don’t play for any other reason,” Murray said.
