A former teammate reveals Kyler Murray's "best version" is coming to Minnesota, fueled by new motivation and a different offensive perspective.
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kyler Murray is a lightning rod for some after seven seasons in the NFL. The player has been under scrutiny from the moment he stepped foot on the Texas A&M campus to play football to the moment he left to the Oklahoma Sooners and departed as a Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 overall pick.
Murray has had his fair share of critics with some even calling the former five-star recruit already a "bust." Those claims have come despite four 3,700-or-more yard passing seasons and having signed a franchise quarterback contract after a breakout in his first few seasons.
One of the latest claims about the new Minnesota Vikings quarterback, who agreed to a one-year contract for less than $1.5 million, interestingly the third-highest contract in the Vikings quarterback room, is that Murray is a bad teammate. Those claims do not make a ton of sense. They make less sense when you take into account what former teammates are saying about him.
Arizona Cardinals running back Chase Edmonds is one of the latest to heap praise on Murray. Kyle Odegard of Casino Guru News shared the following quotes from Edmonds after Murray's departure.
"For the Minnesota fans, I would just say that they are going to get the best version of Kyler Murray, one the NFL has not seen. When Kyler Murray first entered the NFL, he never experienced adversity. When you finally experience that adversity this late in your career? This version of Kyler, he’s going to be more motivated than he’s ever been in his entire life.
Kevin O’Connell is going to show Kyler football through a different lens he has not been shown before. I have that much admiration for how K.O.C. runs his offense. I think it’s going to be a perfect match in Minnesota."
Edmonds' comments come after a handful of others have either wished Murray well or praised his growth as a teammate or leader. It comes in stark contrast to some of what has been said of Murray or really what his actions have pointed to this offseason.
There are not many quarterbacks agreeing to as inexpensive a contract as he has simply to going to a winning situation. Obviously, Murray is still owed what the Cardinals contract will pay him, but some quarterbacks presumably would have asked for more than the inexpensive contract Murray asked for this offseason.
As for how he treats his teammates, one can only look at the outpouring of support they are giving over the last few months. We'll see how his new teammates receive him when training camp starts.