Kyler Murray is participating in his first offseason under coach Jonathan Gannon after the 2022 ACL tear disrupted last year's immersion in Drew Petzing's offense.
Gannon joined noting that Murray getting an entire offseason program should help the signal-caller hit the ground running.
"Physically and mentally, I mean, he looks damn good. He looks damn good," Gannon said. "You know, 'cause you gotta think, he played really good football for us; he had never taken a snap in this offense until Atlanta (in Week 10), you know what I mean, his first game back. I mean, he had a couple weeks of practice leading up to that, but no offseason program, no training camp. No however many games we played without him. Couple weeks of practice and then, you're going, 'Let's play football.' So, I think from a mental and physical standpoint, right now where he's at, to even when he got back last year or even where he finished last year, I think he's leaps and bounds ahead."
During Murray's first two seasons in the NFL, he was able to play through minor injuries -- a hamstring tweak and an AC joint sprain. But since 2021, the quarterback has missed time. An ankle sprain cost him three games in 2021. 2022 proved disastrous with a preseason wrist injury limiting his offseason work, then came a hamstring strain that cost him two games. Then came the ACL tear, which also cost him a major chunk of 2023.
We haven't seen a truly healthy and immersed Murray in two seasons.
Gannon said that beyond the health aspect, Murray has proven an instrumental leader -- something that was questioned when he inked a massive new contract in the summer of 2022.
"What I know about the guy, my relationship with him when I got his job: His will to win is extremely high," Gannon said. "And if you detail out and lay out for him what is needed from him to improve himself, the offense and the team, he is 1,000 percent willing to do that. So, I love the guy, because he's done everything that I've asked of him and more. He's been a phenomenal leader on and off the field -- not just with the offense, but with the entire team."
Gannon noted that Murray's leadership extends to being a coach on the field.
"I talk to him about it, he's the closest thing to me out on the field," he said. "So, I'll ask him certain things, 'Hey do you think I would do that on the field?' 'No, you probably wouldn't.' 'OK, well then you shouldn't do that.' Or good parts of that, too. And that's not like hubris, me saying that I'm the head coach out there. He needs to be the leader of the team, in my opinion, and he can do that. But I think we connected quickly on what needs to happen from my chair, what needs to happen from his chair, what needs to all 53, all 90 guys, what needs to happen from those guys, for us to win football games. And once that's very clear to him, he will do anything you want him to do, because of his will to win."
Added Gannon: "He is competitive as hell, and I love him for it."
Once Murray returned to the lineup last season, the Cardinals offense began to take flight despite the lack of surrounding weapons. Arizona added Marvin Harrison Jr. this offseason, which should give Murray a go-to type weapon he thrived with early in his career (DeAndre Hopkins).
The Cardinals remain in rebuilding mode under Gannon but are expected to take a step forward after last year's four-win season. Murray will play a huge role in how the campaign plays out.
